Mirror People: Adventures Beyond the Looking Glass
by Lord Candycane
Summary: Following up where Mirror People had left up, Sam Crystal is still adjusting to life in the Barrets house. Behold his adventures with his new family as they take on new challenges, conveyed in a series of story arcs, some mystical and others, more down to earth.
1. A Visit to Mirror Isabella

_Yeah, this is the follow-up fanfiction to Mirror People. Originally, I was going to make a series of fanfictions, each telling a story about Sam and the Barrets, but I decided to put them all into one, big fanfiction. Keep in mind, these stories will vary from one-shots to an entire arc._

 _With that said, let's continue._

* * *

 **A Visit to Mirror Isabella**

* * *

"Mirror Isabella Crystal, there's someone who wants to see you."

Mirror Isabella, or Bella as she liked to be known as, groaned a bit. Ever since she had been sent to the psychiatric hospital to cure her of her mental disorders, she had received an endless tirade of visits from all of her friends, and even a few people she didn't even know. Mostly, her visitors were Ophelia and Pandora, coming to check up on her.

This time, however, she knew it wasn't them. The doctor would've referred to them by name if it was. So, Mirror Isabella felt a pang of nervousness as she wondered who had come this time. A lot of the time, her visitors weren't very friendly.

Mirror Isabella sat on her bed, awaiting to see who had come. Slowly, the door in front of her creaked open, and a girl walked in. She had messy brown hair, and she was wearing a red shirt and a black skirt. Mirror Isabella recognized her instantly.

"Hey, you're Brenda Collins, that kid who hangs out with my sister," She said.

"Hey," Brenda greeted, and Mirror Isabella could tell she was nervous about seeing her. She was rather unnerved by the fact that neither of Brenda's parents had bothered to accompany her on her visit.

"I, uh, last week was a big day for everybody," Brenda said. Mirror Isabella instantly remembered what had happened last week.

The night she took everyone in Crystal City and imprisoned them in her magical mirror. Looking back on it, Mirror Isabella wasn't surprised that was what Brenda wanted to talk about. After all, it seemed all of her visits revolved around that night.

"You struck me with a lightning bolt," Brenda pointed out. "I almost died."

"Yeah, I'm sorry," Mirror Isabella apologized in an insincere tone. She still wasn't familiar with Brenda, so she couldn't empathize with her properly. She turned her head so she wouldn't have to face the girl.

"I still have the scars," Brenda revealed and unexpectedly pulled of her shirt a bit. Mirror Isabella briefly turned her head in Brenda's direction, and she almost cringed when she saw the lightning pattern that now adorned Brenda's stomach.

"I'm faring better than most lightning strike victims, though," Brenda reassured. "It's surprising."

"Why are you here?" Mirror Isabella asked, annoyed by Brenda's presence.

"I wanted to ask you something," Brenda said. Before Mirror Isabella could respond, Brenda asked, "How come you're so overbearing?"

Mirror Isabella's eyes shifted and slightly darkened upon hearing that. She didn't like to think of herself as overbearing, but at the same time, she was wondering how Brenda came to that conclusion.

"Izzy told me everything," Brenda said as if she was reading Mirror Isabella's mind. "Yeah, she told me about Amanda, and what you'd do if you got mad-"

"It's tough being me, okay," Mirror Isabella interrupted, now frustrated. "I was orphaned only a few months after Sam was born, and I had to fend for him. We got taken to the orphanage, and Sam was showing Amanda around, and do you know what would've happened if other people found out. Not just the other orphans, but adults. Authorities."

"Well, they all know, now," Brenda said. "And let me tell you, things are going a lot better than you would've thought. Sam actually has a home, now."

"Yeah, I guess the Mirror Dimension wasn't good enough for him," Mirror Isabella whispered, but Brenda heard her.

"Don't say that," Brenda said. "Sam appreciates you, and I know it."

Before another word could be said, the doctor walked in. "Brenda Collins, you're time is up," He said. "You may leave, now."

Brenda sighed, and she gave another glance at Mirror Isabella before exiting the room. Mirror Isabella watched her leave, feeling as if she'd won the argument, even though Brenda had gotten to last word.

That made her happy. She was the winner of this one.

* * *

"Mirror Isabella."

 _Oh gosh,_ Mirror Isabella thought as she recognized that voice. _Oh please, let it not be him. It's only been one day since Brenda was here, why did it have to be HIM?_

Slowly, Mirror Isabella got off her bed. Sure enough, there was David Barret, the characteristic frown on his face. His arms were folded in a disapproving manner, and he had the facial trademarks of disappointment.

"What are you doing here, David?" Mirror Isabella asked with a groan. "Don't you have better things to do?"

"I need a word with you," David said adamantly. Mirror Isabella noticed that David wasn't with his parents, and she secretly wondered what absentminded parents these kids have to not accompany their children while visiting mental patients.

"Look, if this is about last week, I'm sorry about that," Mirror Isabella promised, hoping that would get David to leave.

"Oh, you're sorry?" David asked in an unforgiving tone. "You sound like you took the last donut from the police office, rather than having STOLEN a whole freaking city!"

"Well, how else am I supposed to apologize?" Mirror Isabella asked frantically. "This isn't as easy as you'd think."

David's eyes lightened in sorrow. "Last week...was the worst day of my life," He confessed. "I thought I was going to lose everyone I loved. My parents, my sister..."

"Well, it didn't happen, okay," Mirror Isabella reminded. "I freed the city, remember?"

"Yeah, and Brenda got electrocuted and Sam has a permanent scar," David retorted. "I hope you're happy with yourself, because I'm not."

Mirror Isabella grimaced.

"You're next scheduled visit is in a few more days," David said. "You'd better have your act cleaned up by then."

He turned to exit the room, but paused and added, "Isabella says she's coming to see you tomorrow."

Mirror Isabella shut her eyes, horrified at how that visit would go, and heard the door slam in front of her, signaling that David had left.

* * *

Turns out David hadn't been lying. The very next morning, Isabella Crystal was admitted into the hospital to visit her reflection.

Mirror Isabella groaned inwardly when she saw her counterpart enter the room. Isabella's face was blank when she arrived, so Mirror Isabella had trouble figuring out what emotion she was feeling.

"The doctor says you're doing better," Isabella said, concealing her troubled emotions. Mirror Isabella didn't bother responding to her.

"So, I think you'll be happy to hear that me and Sam are doing great since we've been adopted by the Barrets," Isabella said. "I mean, it's weird. I used to hate that family, especially David, but now we're officially integrated into them. Isn't it great?"

Mirror Isabella sighed. She had no idea how to feel about her siblings getting adopted by a "normal" family. She would've preferred if they were adopted by other Mirror People. That would've been fine with her.

"Anyways, I need to speak to you," Isabella said. "It's about the orphanage."

"It was two years ago, Isabella!" Mirror Isabella snapped. "Two years ago! Time has passed, and our time at the orphanage is in the past."

"You made sure of that, considering you burnt the whole building to the ground!" Isabella pointed out. "Did you know that Sam was in that orphanage when you set it on fire. So was Amanda, and Brenda. They told me!"

Mirror Isabella's eyes widened when she realized how close she had been to killing Sam and Amanda, two people who had played apart in her reformation. She could only imagine what've happened if they had died."

"Do you know the word that went out when you were sent here?" Isabella asked, working herself up to a rage. "Everyone was spreading the word that you were some psycho who tried to destroy a whole city!"

"I know, I know," Mirror Isabella said in a pleading tone. "Losing Sam is the last thing I want."

"Well what nearly happened when he got knocked into the tar pit," Isabella pointed out.

"Don't you remember, I didn't do that," Mirror Isabella snapped, narrowing her eyes. "That was my wolves."

"Working under your instructions," Isabella said. "Mirror Isabella, if you want anyone to truly forgive and forget, you need to prove that you're capable of doing that yourself."

"Let's face it," Mirror Isabella said. "Nobody's going to forget what I did."

Isabella turned to the door and opened it. "Yeah, we both know that," She said. With that, she left.

* * *

Mirror Isabella had mixed feelings when Janet arrived on her visit. She knew it was going to happen eventually, what with everyone else visiting her, but she wasn't sure how she'd respond when she actually came.

"Mirror Isabella?" Janet said as she entered the room. Unlike her previous three visitors, Janet had brought her parents along to supervise her. They stood outside the door, along with the doctor, waiting to see how things went.

Janet twiddled her fingers, looking just as confused as Mirror Isabella. Her bright blue eyes held a pang of uncertainty and anxiety, and her head was drooped and staring at the floor.

"Isabella suggested that I come see you," Janet admitted, and Mirror Isabella silently wondered how that conversation had went. "She requested that she come with me, but I felt she could stay home."

Mirror Isabella snorted in response.

"Don't look unimpressed, you have no idea how much I didn't want to see you," Janet said, and Mirror Isabella saw an unfamiliar look on anger in Janet's eyes. Though she tried to look dignified, Mirror Isabella was a little wary, as she'd never seen Janet look so enraged.

"Look, I know you and everybody else are still pretty mad at me, but I've told everyone else before, that I'm-"

"Sorry? Is that it?" Janet asked, and Mirror Isabella thought her expression made her look unnervingly like David.

"You took away my home, my parents, and you hurt so many people last week!" Janet said, pointing a finger at her. Mirror Isabella thought it odd that this same girl had consoled her about her parents death several days ago, and now she was so angry at her.

"Don't think I forgot what you did just because I tried to make you feel better about your parents," Janet said. "Also, you hurt Brenda, and Sam."

"I know that!" Mirror Isabella said, raising her voice slightly. "Everyone else has been talking about it, even the other mental patients."

"As they should," Janet said. "You're coming to visit us soon, so you better be on your best behavior when you arrive. Until then, I'll be waiting to see."

Mirror Isabella simply flopped back onto the bed, tired of looking at Janet. All she heard were footsteps heading out of the room, followed by the door closing.

Mirror Isabella knew she had to get some sleep. Because, based on how these visits were going, a certain boy with a blue streak in his hair was bound to show up sooner or later.

* * *

"Bella?"

Mirror Isabella's calculations had been correct. Samson "Sam" Crystal had shown up the day after Janet.

"Janet suggested I come see you," He said. Mirror Isabella turned to face Sam. His hair had grow a little bit longer, and his eyes looked bigger now. He wore the same confused expression Janet had the day before.

"I don't know what to say," He admitted. "Those days at the Barrets house, before the whole mirror incident, were so conflicting. I truly felt at home with them."

"Yeah, 'cause the Mirror Dimension wasn't good enough for you, is that it?" Mirror Isabella said, now a little angered.

"I will not be made the guilty party here, Bella," Sam said sternly, shocking Mirror Isabella. "You were the one who chose to overreact and imprison the whole city!"

"Okay, okay, I'm sorry," Mirror Isabella said, turning to stare at the wall.

"How come you were the last person of those five to come see me?" She asked, confused.

"Because I didn't know how I would face you," Sam admitted. "Every fiber in my body was telling me to despise you, but I've spent my whole life with you. I don't know what to think."

Mirror Isabella tensed up, and she kept herself from responding.

"All my life, I thought I was alone," Sam admitted. "Amanda was my only condolence, and you took her away. Sure, she survived, but we were separated for two years. Then, Janet came, and I actually felt like I could be accepted once more. Then you tried to separate the two of us. What is the matter with you?"

Once more, Mirror Isabella didn't respond.

"Do you just think that you have the right to control my life?" He asked, on the verge of shouting. "Do you think a simply 'sorry' will make everything better? Because apparently, that's what you told the other people who visited you."

"Well what else am I supposed to say?" Mirror Isabella asked. "Am I supposed to grovel at your feet, begging for forgiveness. I'm no slave, Samson Crystal!"

"I know that!" Sam said. "But, Mirror Isabella, that night, everybody could've died. I could've died. When I fell into that tar pit, I truly thought I was done for, and I could only imagine what you would've done next."

Mirror Isabella tried to cancel out how she would've responded if Sam truly had died. She knew that if he actually had drowned in the pit, her reaction would've been something she'd regret later.

"If I could, I'd have dived into that pit and saved you myself," She tried, to offer some condolence.

"Yeah, maybe you would've," Sam said. He looked around his shoulder, then added, "I'm overstaying my welcome here. Soon, the doctor will tell me to leave. I better get going."

"Yeah, bye Sam," Mirror Isabella said as she lay down on the bed and shut her eyes. Sam watched her sleep, and he turned around and left the room.

Mirror Isabella opened her eyes and watched as Sam left. As she did, she contemplated how big a role she had played in everybody's lives, the night she imprisoned the whole city.

"Mirror Isabella, you have another visitor."

Mirror Isabella sighed, but this time she was prepared. She wondered who'd come to see her this time.

* * *

 _Tell me which visit was your favorite :)_


	2. Bully (Pt 1)

_This is the first story arc. It likely won't last very long, probably a few chapters. With that said, let's continue onwards._

 _Keep in wind, this chapter is focused on Sam's POV._

* * *

 **Bully**

* * *

I, Samson Crystal Barret, or Sam as I liked to be known, had been happier now that me and my sister lived with the Barrets. My adoptive parents, Felix and Agatha, truly treated me and Isabella like their real children. Sure, they weren't too bright, but they were real parents.

On another hand, I finally got to go to school for the first time. I was nervous, at first, but David and Janet, and even Isabella and Brenda, had all reassured me that it wasn't as bad as it seemed. And, for the most part, they were right. The teachers were nice, the other kids were nice, and the school janitor, Mr. Harley, soon became my favorite school official.

And words couldn't describe how excited the whole family was when I revealed that in a week, I'd be turning nine. The preparations were all being set early to prepare me for a great day.

But, something was bugging me. Or should I say someone.

Her name was Alyssa Geraldine. She had shiny blonde hair and green eyes, and a bit of an overbite. Every class has that kid who's scrawnier than everyone else, and Alyssa was just that. She was about three inches shorter than me and Janet, and she was rather skinny, too. However, that was because she wasn't quite in the same age group as us.

The kids in my class were all eight, some turning nine, including me. Alyssa was seven. Why she was in the same class as us, then, I'm not sure.

I hate Alyssa. There, I said it. I hate that shrimp. Why? She has a cute smile, sparkly eyes, and is surprisingly good at math and equations. So, why do I despise her so much.

"Ow!"

Alyssa stuck her foot behind my chair leg and tripped it over, causing me to fall on the floor. I'd been painting a portrait of me and my family, but because of Alyssa, I'd totally smeared the whole thing.

"It was only an accident," Alyssa excused.

Yeah, that's why I hate Alyssa. She's a bully.

Maybe that's a bit of an overstatement, but I'd like to think she is. I honestly hadn't been told what a bully was until recently, by David. He says a bully is someone who makes other people miserable. If that's the case, then Alyssa is a bully.

Alyssa's a peculiar person. I've watched high school movies, and whenever they have a girl bully, she's some rich blonde bimbo who calls people names, acts so smug, and yet is popular. Let me tell you, Alyssa isn't like that.

Alyssa isn't popular. She has no friends in the school. She lounges about in the back of the class, and nobody pays her any attention, not even Janet, who sits next to her. During recess, she's a loner, spending the whole time skipping on giant rocks and somehow not tripping and falling.

It's only during times when the teacher isn't around, that she'll bully me. In this instance, the teacher had left the room, and she tripped me, causing the aforementioned incident. Other times, she'll drop my bag off of the hanger and even remove its contents. She purposely bumps into me, especially when I'm carrying something. Other times, she'll jab a finger into my back or ear. But then there are times when she'll strike me with a ruler or kick me in the shin.

If this were before my adoption, she wouldn't of been a problem. Back then, I get back at anyone who annoyed me somehow, usually with use of my powers. I'd do it in a way that they wouldn't suspect me, though. But, now that I'm a schoolboy, and adopted, I don't have that option. I can't just beat her up. She's younger and smaller than me.

I pretend she doesn't bother me. But, recently, I've started asking the people I'm close to how to properly deal with her.

David said, "Life's a (unsuitable word) and then you die." Considering how he reacts to someone who annoys him, I thank that's incredibly hypocritical.

Brenda told me, "Tough." I didn't quite get it, though. Tough as in take Alyssa's behavior and do nothing, or tough as in do something and stop her? She should've been more specific.

Janet's advice was the only thing that actually sounded like it could work. She told me, "Sometimes, people do things and don't understand the consequences for it, or how it makes someone feel. Maybe, if you let that girl know that you don't like what she's doing, she'll stop."

Yeah, maybe I should do that. In fact, I will do it. I'm going to walk right up to Alyssa, and tell her that what she's doing is wrong, and that she should STOP.

* * *

I came out with a black eye. Of course I didn't fight back, for fear of seriously harming her. She didn't listen to what I said, of course, and seemed quite offended, really.

I didn't know what else to do. There were few other people I could talk to.

I sat down on my tree stump in the forest to ponder things. As I did, Mirror Samson's pet cat, Ballard, slunk up to me and lay down in my lap. I stroked his back.

"What am I going to do, Ballard?" I asked him. "This blonde girl is a pain in my neck, and it's almost my birthday. What do you suggest?"

Ballard softly meowed.

"No, I am not going to beat her up!" I said firmly. "Otherwise, I would've done it by now."

Ballard meowed again, but longer, this time. This time, he actually had a point, but I couldn't take that option, either.

"No, I can't talk to Isabella, either," I said, as ridiculous as that sounded. It did seem weird that of all people, my biological sister was the one person I was keeping the bullying situation a secret from. But, here's the thing: every time Isabella gives me advice, I come to regret it later on. Maybe immediately, or some time may pass, but I always end up feeling guilty when I take her advice.

So, I don't know what to do. It's like I'm stuck in a pickle jar; there's no way out unless someone else opens the lid.

So, the big question was, who'd get me out of this one?


	3. Bully (Pt 2)

_A-Plus Cassiopeia: Yeah, a lot of these stories, you'll find, are based on personal experience or things I've heard about, if exaggerated._

* * *

 **(Sam's POV)**

It was the day before my birthday. My family had the next day planned out: Janet would hand out invitations to the party tomorrow, which would start at 6:00. Our parents specifically chose her because they realized that David and Isabella were much too specific about who they chose.

However, after how my birthday party went, let's just say it would've been better if either David or Isabella had been in charge of the invitations.

Anyways, it started during second recess. During that time, most of the kids in my class were outside. However, me and a few other kids had stayed indoor to work on a math equation we hadn't solved.

Oh, lucky me, guess which other kid was also staying indoors.

Alyssa Geraldine.

I have no idea why she was here. She usually could solve all of her math questions way before anyone on the class. What, was she slacking off on purpose so she could bug me again without the teacher in the room? Oh, yeah, the teacher wasn't here to supervise us. She was outside with the rest of them.

At this rate, I was working at a quicker pace than usual. Mainly so I could get outside and not have to be in the same room with Alyssa. I only had one more question to finish...

"You're still working on that easy question?" Alyssa said, striding over towards me. I shut my eyes and gritted my teeth, my hand squeezing on the pencil as I tried to block out Alyssa's voice. I could finish this question in a few seconds, then I could be out of here. Just a few more seconds...

Before I could write the answer, Alyssa snatched the paper off the desk. "I finished this question long time," She mocked me.

"Give me back my paper, Geraldine," I demanded, my tone of voice making the demand sound more like a threat. I stood up off the desk, three inches taller than her. The other kids began to stare at us.

Alyssa waved the paper in the air and blew a raspberry at me, prancing away from me. I made several attempts to grab the paper, but she stayed out of reach. Eventually, she placed the paper in both her hands and slightly ripped it.

I stared at the ripped paper in shock, and at that moment, I felt something snap inside me. I used my transparent hands to grab the paper out of Alyssa's hand. Quickly, I wrote the answer down. Once that was over, a stomped over to Alyssa, who now looked a little frightened.

I grabbed Alyssa and hoisted her high into the air. She gave a small scream of surprise and dug her nails into my arms. It stung a little bit, but I barely noticed. I was way too angry. Then, with a heave, I tossed Alyssa several feet away. She landed on a chair, which toppled over from her weight, and she crashed onto the ground.

The other kids were staring at me in shock. I gave one glare at them, then I stormed out of the room for recess.

* * *

"Alyssa Geraldine did what to you?" Janet asked me when we were heading home after school ended. Amanda had joined us, as her school was close to ours.

"I don't know what's wrong with her," I admitted, rubbing the back of my head. "What do you think, Amanda."

"Maybe she has some kind of syndrome," She suggested, being a nurses assistant. I just rolled my eyes at that.

Suddenly, I felt someone tackle me from behind. I'm stronger than most children my age, being a mirror person, but the suddenness caused me to come crashing to the ground. Whoever had tackled me then pulled me onto my back, and I saw who it was.

It was Alyssa. She looked angrier than usual, and her face was red. Before I could get up, she pinned me down and began striking me in the face. She wasn't doing too much damage to me, though. However, I didn't know how to fight back without seriously hurting her.

Janet and Amanda watched me from the side, both of them unsure of what to do. Other children gathered around me, all of them chanting "Fight! Fight! Fight!" Idiots. Was this some sort of game to them?

Eventually, I threw Alyssa off of me, causing her to crash on the pavement a few feet away. I began to get to my feet, along with Alyssa. Before either of us could do anything, Amanda stormed forward and grabbed Alyssa by the collar, hoisting her up off the ground.

Amanda wasn't usually violent, so it came to a shock when I saw her backhand Amanda with a closed fist, knocking her onto the pavement face first. All of the other children stopped chanting instantly. Amanda was older than all of them, so they didn't want think it was game when she was concerned.

Alyssa appeared to have taken a very hard fall, since it was taking her a surprisingly long time to get to her feet. Amanda took the opportunity to grab me and Janet by the arms and begin dragging us away from her.

"Thanks for hitting her, Amanda," I said in an unsure tone, realizing immediately how awkward that statement sounded. But as I said that, I always glanced at Janet, who was still staring at Alyssa, who I could only assume was unconscious at the moment.

As I did so, I couldn't shake the thought that Janet had just stood by and watched some girl assault me.

* * *

That thought remained with me even when we were having dinner during noon.

Normally, I wouldn't care for it much, except that I often look to Janet for support. Janet was the one who first befriended me and helped me see the good in people. Whenever I had a problem, Janet would usually help me get out of it. But, just hours before, she just stood by and let Alyssa strike me. And it was Amanda, not Janet, who did something to stop her.

I realized I shouldn't be dwelling on it too much. Janet's even younger than I am, if only be a couple months, so I can't expect her to everything for me. But, on the other hand, I knew I couldn't just let Alyssa keep picking on me. I had to stop it, but I didn't know how.

I knew I had a lot of options on how to end it. But only one didn't involve violence of some kind. That would be to tell someone. But, then what would happen?

I can't just tell the teacher the youngest kid in the class is bullying me. I'll be humiliated. Everyone will look at me and think of me as the weakling who couldn't deal with some seven year old brat. What would my family think of me? What would Mirror Isabella think of me? Thinking of her, I then realized that she was visiting me in two days.

Thinking of that, I knew I had to stop the bullying by the time Mirror Isabella came for one of her visits. If she found out I was getting bullied, who knows how she'd react. She's blown a fuse several times just because I was friends with someone from the Earth-dimension. If she found out someone was hurting me...

"Isabella, I have a problem," I whispered to my older sister, who was sitting next to me. I knew I shouldn't be asking her for advice. After all, her advice always ends with something bad happening in some way or another. Currently, her mouth was stuffed with food, and she made a slight murmur for me to continue, not looking particularly interested.

'Well, there's this kid, in school, that's picking on me," I said. I didn't tell Isabella her name, gender, or appearance. That would only complicate things.

Isabella swallowed her food. "What does this kid do?" She asked,, stabbing her fork into a chicken leg.

"Well, the kid trips me, takes my papers, pokes me, and today, the kid wailed on me, with Janet and Amanda watching," I explained awkwardly. I expected Isabella to freak out, but when I saw her face, she looked unnervingly calm.

"Janet told me to talk with the kid, but I just got black eye in response," I said, pointing to my black eye in question. Isabella listened and slightly nodded her head.

"Well, Sam, if someone is hurting you, you need to show them that you can't be messed with," She said. "They hit you, you hit them harder."

I gulped a bit. "What?" I asked.

"The kid bullies you because they think you can't do anything about it," Isabella went on, poking my chest softly with her fork. "They think you're weak, that you're helpless. They want to make you think that you're weak and helpless."

I turned away from her, but Isabella took my chin and turned my face in her direction. "Well, Sam, you know that's not true," She went on. "You're strong. You can easily stop whoever is picking on you."

"But-"

"The next time that person lays so much as a finger on you, go all at it," She said. "Then, they'll know you're too strong to be picked on."

With that, Isabella excused herself from the table and left, leaving me to think about it. On one hand, that mentality had a lot of flaws. I could seriously harm her, and what if her parents found out? What would they do? What if everyone thinks I have anger or violence problems?"

But, what about me? Am I not important, too? That kid will keep picking on me unless I do something about it. Maybe Isabella's right.

Maybe that's my only option.

* * *

 _Reviews are appreciated._


	4. Bully (Pt 3)

_I won't respond to any reviews this chapter, since they all made the same point. That moment when you realize everyone wants a seven year old girl to have her face beaten in..._

* * *

 **(Janet's POV)**

Today was Sam's birthday.

It was mutually agreed that I hand out all the birthday invitations. So, at school, I randomly handed out invitations to anyone within arm's length of me. For the most part, I didn't really think about it when I handed out the invites.

Until I saw _her._

It was Alyssa Geraldine. I noticed that her face was still bruised after Amanda punched her and knocked her on the ground the day before. She was lounging about, away from the crowd of kids.

Good for her. She deserves to be ignored after hitting Sam.

But, I look at her eyes and... is she crying? My gosh, she looks sad...

No, Janet! Keep a hold of herself! You have to hand out the invites to everyone for Sam's birthday party. But, Alyssa's one of the only people not getting invited...

Stop it! For goodness sake, Janet, keep your niceness in check and ignore her!

...Okay, that's it. Just turn around, and forget you ever saw her crying...

* * *

"Hey, Alyssa, you want to come to the party this afternoon?" I asked Alyssa as I handed the invitation to the younger girl.

Gah! Why did I just do that! Janet, sometimes you being overly nice can be such a BAD thing!

Alyssa looked shocked, as I was that I'd just given an invitation to Sam's bully. "Um, thanks," Was all she said.

Oh my gosh, what will Sam do when he finds out I invited Alyssa to his birthday party?! Okay, Janet, don't freak out, Sam will understand... but then again, I've known Sam for less than a month. Sure, he's part of the family, but we technically haven't spent much time together. Who knows how he'd react when he finds out that-

I was suddenly picked up from behind. I nearly broke out into a scream.

"Janet, who is it?" I recognized Isabella's voice, and I calmed down. Isabella didn't put me down, though.

"Uh, this is Alyssa," I introduced. "She and Sam haven't been having the best luck with each other, so I invited her to the party."

Isabella set me down, and I turned to face her. She had an unreadable expression, but that said a lot. I'd been able to recognize that whenever Isabella's face went blank, she was planning something, which usually wasn't a good thing.

After a while, Isabella broke into a smile and said, "Okay, Alyssa, you can come to our party. Have fun, and you'll make a lot of friends."

Without another word, she grabbed me by the arm and dragged me down the hallway.

I wasn't sure about Isabella. Something seemed fishy about her. But hey, it was just an innocent birthday party.

What could go wrong?

 **(End POV)**

* * *

"I can't believe I'm nine, today!" Sam shouted to David and his parents in Janet's room, which Sam shared with her. The other three smiled for him.

"Yeah, and the party's starting in, uh, let me see," Felix said and looked at his watch. "It's starting in about ten minutes."

Moments later, the door opened, and Isabella slunk in, a smile on her face.

"Hey, guys, can I talk to Sam, alone?" She asked innocently. The other Barrets nodded and left the room. The moment they were gone, Isabella sat down on the bed next to Sam.

"You didn't tell me your bully was a girl," Isabella said, causing Sam to fluster from embarrassment. Isabella went on.

"Oh, it's all right," She reassured. "It can be hard to deal with a girl bully. But, remember what I told you. Don't let her gender make you step down, that'd be prejudiced."

"Yeah, Bella, I know, but she is still seven," Sam said.

"Who cares?" Isabella asked, and Sam thought he heard a note of bitterness in her tone. "That girl is a brat, and she needs to be taken down a peg!"

Sam gulped a bit as he thought it over, but those thoughts were sidetracked when he heard the bell ring downstairs. He and Isabella walked downstairs to see who had come to his party.

It was Amanda.

"Hi, Sam!" She said as she hugged him and picked him up. "I can't believe you're nine, now!"

"Yeah, now I'm your age!" Sam commented happily. Amanda paused for a moment, then set Sam down, saying, "No, you can't be. I'm turning ten this year."

Sam chuckled, and then, another family arrived. Followed by another. And another.

Quicker than expected, the house was packed with those invited, as well as their family members. Sam guessed the reason why they'd all come so quickly was because he was the somewhat-famous mirror boy who saved the city nearly a month ago.

The thought of that made him think of Mirror Isabella, and he remembered that her scheduled visit was tomorrow. He wished she could've come on his birthday, which seemed more fitting.

David snapped Sam out of his thoughts. "Hey, punk, you going be part of this thing or not?" He asked. Sam put his thoughts about Mirror Isabella in the back of his mind, and joined the rest of the party.

* * *

For a half hour, the partygoers ate cupcakes, junk food, and drank Kool-Aid. They played videogames in the living room and watched movies upstairs. Sam was able to sign autographs from some of his younger fans.

Isabella, during the whole party, had been sitting on the stairs and chatting with her friends, Ophelia and Pandora. Secretly, though, she was stalling, waiting for when Alyssa Geraldine would show up. She'd told Janet not to bring out the birthday cake until she came, reasoning with her that everyone should be there when the birthday cake was brought out.

It'd been a half hour already, but everyone was so occupied with their partying that they hadn't noticed. Isabella was beginning to wonder if Alyssa would even show up, but eventually, she came.

Alyssa showed up, totally alone, without her parents or anyone else. She had a smile on her face, but Isabella noticed a hint of doubt in it. But what Isabella also noticed, was that Alyssa had a tiny birthday present in her hand.

This was the moment. Isabella flew down the stairs and walked over to Janet, who was playing a videogame with her friends.

"Janet, Alyssa is here," She said. "Go get the cake."

Janet obeyed and set off to find the cake. Then, Isabella soared over to Alyssa.

"Welcome, Alyssa," She greeted with false enthusiasm. "Good to see you."

"Where's Sam?" Alyssa asked bluntly. Isabella pointed Sam out, as he played the videogame with the other children. Alyssa shoved past Isabella and walked over to him, stepping in front of the video screen.

Isabella secretly chuckled when she saw the look on Sam's face when he saw Alyssa at his party. This was definitely going to be a party to remember.

"Hey, Sam, I guess it's weird seeing me here," Alyssa said awkwardly, while Sam continued to stare at her in shock, his video player falling out of his hands with the game still on. His jaw was dropped in utter disbelief.

"Your sister invited me here," Alyssa added, and Sam's expression changed. He grimaced at the thought that Janet would do something like this to him.

Alyssa held out toe present for him. "This is for, Sam," She said, forcing a smile.

Sam got up off the ground and stared at Alyssa, then looked up at the stairs. Isabella was staring at him from the stars, and she slammed a fist into her palm as a silent signal.

Sam bit his lower lip as he thought of what to do. He had two options here: trust Isabella or Alyssa. The former was his older sister, who cared for him, and who always looked out for him, even if she was often in the wrong. The latter, was a girl who'd picked on him for days.

In that split-second, Sam made his decision.

And it would be one that he would regret.

* * *

 _Reviews are appreciated._


	5. Bully (Pt 4)

_AlecReyes20: You think that's awkward? Just wait until you see what happens now._

 _A-Plus Cassiopeia: Janet may be a nice person, but she's not always the best thinker. As for the respond reviews thing, well I'm responding now, aren't I?_

* * *

Janet had just arrived with the cake in her hands. She had a big smile on her face as she planned to present it to everyone. However, her smile, and all traces of joy, vanished completely when she got to the living room.

Just as she got there, she saw Sam tackle Alyssa to the floor, knocking the present out of her hand. Simultaneously, Janet slipped, causing the cake to fly out of her hands and strike one of the partygoers in the face. Janet landed on her bottom, though she was unhurt.

Alyssa screamed as Sam pinned to the floor. By now, all the other partygoers were crowding around, unsure what to do. Some were screaming at the sudden disruption.

David rushed through the crowd and grabbed Janet, pulling her from harms way as Sam scuffled with Alyssa on the floor. Amanda sidestepped away and into the crowd to avoid the conflict. Isabella merely leaned on the railing to enjoy the show.

Sam proceeded to slam his fist into Alyssa's face, causing the back of her head to bounce onto the ground. Sam drew his fist into the air, and hesitated for a moment. Then, he brought his fist down again and punched Alyssa once more. Gasps and shouts begin to erupt from the crowd.

For several seconds, Sam punched Alyssa several times in the face while she could only raise her hand to cover her face in a futile attempt to protect herself. It didn't look like it, but Sam was actually holding back; punching her with full force would've killed her.

Sam himself was feeling a mixture of betrayed emotions. He'd thought of what it would be like to exact revenge upon Alyssa, but he felt a grim feeling in his gut as he actually carried it out.

Everyone stared at Sam in utter horror and disbelief. Amanda looked like she was about to vomit. David's jaw was dropped as he held onto Janet and watched Sam beat Alyssa. However, it was Janet who held the most utterly heartbroken expression of anyone in the crowd. Isabella, however, watched with satisfaction.

Eventually, however, Sam stopped. Quickly, he got off of Alyssa, who was lying battered on the floor, her face covered in small bruises. Sam sat on the floor, breathing heavily as he processed what he had just done. He looked around, and saw everyone's face, and he felt dirty to realize that they were all expressions directed at him.

Alyssa's head was ringing; she covered her face with her hands in an attempt to ease her pain. Slowly, she got up off the ground, hesitating to avoid any further violence. For a brief moment, she looked at everyone else in the crowd. The moment she locked eyes with any guests, they turned away from her gaze. The only one with the dignity to look her in the eyes was Janet.

Sam felt like he was about to puke. It would've been bad enough if he'd done it alone, but to lash out in front of all of these people...

"Get out, all of you," Sam quietly ordered to all the partygoers. For a moment, everyone was frozen in place, unsure of how to respond.

Sam turned to stare at a quarter of the guests. "I said, _get out_ ," He repeated, finality in his voice. The guests didn't want to risk getting on Sam's bad side, so they all disembarked, pouring out of the house quietly. Alyssa struggled to get up, but eventually, she left the house too, tears pouring from her eyes. Amanda was the last to go; she stared at Sam, pity in her eyes, before she left.

The only ones who remained were Sam and the rest of his family. Felix and Agatha stared at Sam, unsure of what to do; they were technically his parents now, in spit of not being biologically related, but they didn't have the same experience with Sam that they did with David and Janet.

"Uh, children, you should probably go to bed," Felix said as he and Agatha began to walk upstairs awkwardly. "We'll discuss this in the morning."

The moment the parents were gone, Isabella hopped down the stairs and embraced Sam.

"Aw, I'm so proud of you," She cooed as she kissed him on the forehead. "You did the right thing, Sam." With that, Isabella then flew back upstairs. David followed afterwards.

Janet was still staring at Sam. He returned her glance for a second, and then he retreated upstairs to their room.

* * *

Sam wasn't sure how long he was in Janet's room before she came in. He guessed around ten minutes, but he couldn't keep track.

During that time, he breathed heavily and grabbed his head as he tried to process what he'd done. All sorts of thoughts came raining down him. What would Alyssa's parents do when they found out? What if they called authorities to take him away? How would the rest of the city respond?

His thoughts were broken when the door opened to signal Janet coming in.

"Sam, that was wrong," She said, a sternness in her voice that Sam wasn't accustomed to. However, the moment she came him, Sam's frustration was replaced with anger.

"Wrong?!" He shouted, startling her. Jumping off the bed, Sam took a few steps towards her, a finger pointed in her direction.

"You knew what was happening!" He accused angrily. "You knew Alyssa was messing with me! I thought you were my friend, you should've done something! But you didn't! And how did Alyssa get an invitation to... the party..."

Sam's eyes widened in disbelief, soon replaced with a feeling of betrayal.

" _You_ brought her here," He guessed, his eyes locked on Janet. She didn't respond, but Sam saw the look of guilt in her face.

"I wanted you two to make up," She confessed guiltily. "I thought if she came here for the party, you two could become friends and works things out. I just wanted to make things better." She hung her head in shame.

What Sam said next, he knew he would never forgive himself for saying.

"Janet, you _idiot_!" The words flew out of his mouth before he could even comprehend what he was saying. Even with her head lowered, Sam saw the way Janet's eyes widened in shock at what had been said to her. However, he went on.

"You invite the girl you knew I hated to my birthday party?!" He shouted at her. Sam got the feeling that the rest of his family was silently listening to what he was saying, and he knew he would come to regret saying these things.

"This was supposed to be _my_ special day, and you ruined it!" He shouted, the words harboring feelings of anger and sadness. "How could you? This is all your fault!"

Sam stopped himself before he could go any further. However, the damage was done. When he looked into Janet's tear-filled eyes, he saw a look of unfathomable dejection that he had never seen on anybody else's face, ever.

Janet tore out of the room, her eyes streaming with tears. She slammed the door behind her, leaving Sam alone in the room. Outside the room, he heard Janet sobbing to herself out in the hallway.

Hearing Janet's miserable sobs caused Sam to cry for her himself. Shutting off the lights, he fell into his bed, sobbing quietly to himself.

He cried until he was asleep.

* * *

 _I'll admit, it was a little tough writing this chapter. I hope you appreciate it, though. As always, read and review._


	6. Bully (Pt 5)

_Al Drin Hoshizora: Sincerest apologies for the inconvenience. Sam gives you his best regards._

 _A-Plus Cassiopeia: At least Janet makes up for it by probably being one of the most moral characters in this fanfiction._

 _BookMast3r: I take it the saddest part was Janet getting a verbal beat down from Sam._

 _Guest: Uh-huh. You should probably expect a few more as this story goes on._

* * *

In the morning, the family all had breakfast together before school. In a twist of irony, Janet was the only one going to school; her three siblings were all suffering from something; Isabella had the flu; David was the one who gave Isabella the flu; and Sam was simply in a state of depression after what happened the night before.

Currently, they were all having pancakes. Isabella and David were both eating like they'd been starved for a month, while Janet simply stared emptily at her breakfast. Sam stared at his pancakes, and his index finger, which he had morphed into a claw, was currently tapping at the pancake mindlessly.

For what seemed like hours on end, nobody said a thing. Eventually, however, Felix spoke up.

"Sam, Janet, you're not eating anything," He pointed out. Both kids didn't respond.

"Sam, you and Izzy are knew here, so we're going to go easy on you," Felix went on, and Sam's eyes trailed away. Felix continued, saying, "Sam, if you're going to live in this household, there are certain rules you need to follow. Which includes not beating partygoers to a bloody pulp."

"It was a split-second choice," Sam mumbled out through gritted teeth.

"No, it wasn't," Felix retorted. "We saw it."

When Sam didn't reply, Felix continued.

"David and Isabella told me that the girl had been picking on you," He said, and he saw Sam's eyes widen slightly.

"Look, I knew it's tough when people think they can mistreat you, believe me, I know," Felix said to console him. "But, there isn't a singular solution to a problem like that. Sometimes, you beat them up, but it won't work on all bullies. You can talk them down, but it won't work on all bullies. You can be nice to them, but it won't work on all of them. But sometimes, it will."

"Then which of those should I have used?" Sam asked quietly.

"...I don't know," Felix admitted. "I don't know much about Alyssa Geraldine."

"I figured you couldn't help me," Sam muttered bitterly, and he excused himself from his seat and left. He walked up the stairs and sat down on the steps.

It didn't take long before Isabella joined him on the steps.

"I should've known they wouldn't understand," She said sorrowfully as she placed a comforting hand on Sam's back. "Nice people, but they have the worst advice, especially to kids like you."

Sam stared at the railing silently.

"Sam, I don't want you to feel bad for yourself," Isabella went on, rubbing Sam's back. "Everybody makes mistakes, but this wasn't one of them. You stood up to your bully."

"So why do I feel bad?" Sam asked her.

"Sam, you shouldn't take lightly to people like her," Isabella said, and Sam noted a hint of bitterness in her tone. "They ruin the lives of people who deserve to live. Why, do you know how many people who's lives were ahead of them, that ended up killing themselves because of the torment."

Sam's eyes glittered with tears as he thought of this. Indeed, many people have killed themselves because of bullies. And yet so many people take it so lightly...

"If anyone has a problem with you defending yourself, tell them to take a hike!" Isabella instructed. "Alyssa doesn't deserve your kindness, or your forgiveness." She was about to continue, but she then sneezed a bit due to her flu.

"I should be going to bed," Isabella said as she pinched her nose. As she headed upstairs, she added, "Always be confident in yourself, Sam."

Sam managed a weak smile, but it vanished when he saw Janet pass by the stairs as she headed out for school. It crossed his mind that he hadn't really apologized to her after having reduced her to tears the night before.

He hoped to do it after school. But, for now, he was going to go to the Mirror Dimension. After all, Mirror Isabella was coming to visit him today.

He could only hope nothing went wrong on her visit.

* * *

The school day passed by quickly for Janet. Throughout the entirety of those seven hours she spent at school, barely anything happened. However, maybe that had to do with her mind not being on her schoolwork, but on Sam and Alyssa.

Janet was still hurt by Sam's words. He may not have known it, but she depended on his support almost as much as the reverse, and he had just torn her self-esteem to shreds.

But even then, she also wondered about Alyssa. She still had the bruises after having been beaten by Sam the night before. She was even quieter than usual now, almost like she was mute. Janet wondered if Sam's words were true; maybe it was her fault for what had happened.

Before anyone knew it, school ended. Janet packed her bag and headed to her home. Joining her was Brenda.

"So, how was Sam's party?" She asked, having not been invited due to being home at the time. Due to that, she hadn't known what had went down at the party.

"I don't want to talk about it," Janet replied bluntly, and Brenda's face fell.

"Ah, come on, Little Jane, you can tell-"

She was cut off when both girls heard a scream. Turning around, they both saw Alyssa on the ground, a few classmates standing over her. They were kicking dirt on her and pulling her hair. It struck Janet as ironic that Alyssa was lying on the same spot she'd knocked Sam down on only two days ago.

"Come on, Janet, let's go," Brenda said, tugging on Janet's sleeve. She knew who Alyssa was, and she didn't appreciate her presence. However, Janet couldn't bare to stand by and just let Alyssa endure another humiliation, and she broke free from Brenda's grasp.

"Hey, leave that girl alone!" Janet shouted as she charged at the classmates. She grabbed each of them and threw them all roughly on the ground to defend Alyssa. She grabbed the last one, a boy with black hair and brown eyes, and flipped him over her shoulder. Instantly, all of the classmates ran off in terror.

Now that they were gone, Janet looked down at Alyssa, who was coughing after having dirt flung in her face. Janet quickly knelt down and rubbed the dirt off of Alyssa's face with her blouse.

"I'm so sorry about all of that," Janet apologized as she helped Alyssa to her feet.

"Oh, it's you," Alyssa said bitterly when she recognized Janet. She pulled her hand away, and Janet wondered if Alyssa blamed her for the previous night.

"Look, I know what Sam did, but I didn't think he'd react like that," Janet went on as Alyssa turned away. "He's usually better than that."

"I should've expected a freak with superpowers would never want to make amends with me," Alyssa said crossly. "Go away, girl."

Now Janet was a little angry. She didn't care if Sam had yelled at her the night before; she wasn't going to let Alyssa insult him like that.

"Hey, Sam is not like that," She snapped, turning Alyssa around to face him. "He has problems of his own, you know, and you just made them worse when you bullied him. If you hadn't done that, maybe Sam wouldn't have beaten you up!"

Alyssa stared at Janet, someone hurt, and then she broke into tears. Janet immediately regretted her tone of words, and she hugged Alyssa.

"Hey, I'm not mad," She said in an attempt to console her. "It's just, you shouldn't have done all of those things to him."

"I know," Alyssa said through her tears as she hugged Janet back. "But, it's so hard when everyone acts like you're invisible, and yet Sam had such a great school life with friends like you."

Janet secretly smirked when she heard that, considering Sam's awful life before being adopted.

"Look, Sam has problems of his own, you know," Janet pointed out. "But, there's both of you can make amends."

"Really?" Alyssa asked through tears. "But, we beat each other up."

"You don't have to keep doing that," Janet pointed out. "In fact, we're going to go right over to my house. We're going to the Mirror Dimension, and we're going to find Sam. Okay, Alyssa?"

Alyssa nodded.

Secretly, Janet had her worries. It did cross her mind that Mirror Isabella was visiting today, but at the moment, she put it at the back of her head. Mirror Isabella didn't know who Alyssa was, so surely she couldn't lash out at someone she technically had no reason to hate.

She hoped that was true.

* * *

 _Reviews are appreciated._


	7. Bully (Pt 6)

_Al Drin Hoshizora: What's your opinion on Isabella, again?_

 _A-Plus Cassiopeia: Sam is sort of like a glass cannon: He's powerful and fragile at the same time._

* * *

"Hello, I'm Davey Joe, ready to... ACHOO!" David was recording before sneezing. He was currently preparing to upload a video on Youtube, something that was getting seriously sidetracked by his cold.

"Okay, let's try that again," David said to himself, and straightened his throat. "Hello, I' Davey Joe, ready to-"

Before he could continue, Janet and Alyssa burst into the room, interrupting him. They entered in such a hurry that the video recorder nearly toppled off the dresser, and David dove and barely managed to catch it.

"What are you doing here?" He asked as Janet and Alyssa began to enter through the mirror.

"No time to explain," Janet replied and she and Alyssa vanished into the mirror. Right before they left, David caught a glimpse of Alyssa, and put two and two together.

"Oh my gosh, Janet," He whispered, and shut the recorder off and began to follow the two inside the mirror.

* * *

Sam sat in his room in the Mirror Dimension, awaiting for when Mirror Isabella would arrive. He was on his bed, staring at the wall, glazed.

For a brief moment, he stared at the portrait on the dresser. The portrait showed him, Isabella, Mirror Isabella, and Mirror Samson squished together with a happy smile on their faces as they had their photo taken. He sighed.

Suddenly, the door flew open, and Janet walked in.

"Janet!" Sam said, somewhat startled, and he jumped off the bed. Immediately, he began to think of ways to apologize for his words towards her the other night. However, those thoughts were put aside when he saw Alyssa with her.

Both girls saw the way Sam's facial expressions shifted from surprised, to confused, to bitter.

"...What is _she_ doing here?" Sam hissed, his teeth gritted.

Alyssa partially hid behind Janet, still a little scared after he previous encounter with him. Janet, feeling like she'd trapped herself in a corner, tried to find a way to ease both kids.

"She's here to work things out," Janet said, and Alyssa nodded.

Sam glared. "I thought you realized that wouldn't work," He said. "The only way either of us can be happy is if we just stay out of each other's lives."

Janet internally groaned. "Sam, that's a lie, and you know it," She pointed out. "This is going to haunt both of you unless you can properly put an end to this."

She dragged Alyssa towards Sam, and then pushed Sam towards Alyssa. Sam retained the same stone-cold glare throughout this.

Alyssa stared up at Sam, and her mouth opened, but no words came out. Sam stared at her harshly, intentionally trying to intimidate her.

When neither of them spoke, Janet said, "Well, say something, either of you."

Sam softened his glaze slightly. "Alyssa, I take it you want to apologize?" He asked, more to soothe Janet than Alyssa. In secret, he wasn't exactly planning to forgive her.

"Y-y-yes, Sam," Alyssa stuttered. Sam found it ironic that the girl who would make fun of him was now having trouble speaking. He secretly wondered if her getting beaten by him the nigh before had temporarily hurt her speaking. He didn't say anything though.

Alysa turned to Janet, and she motioned with her hands to continue. Alyssa took a deep breath and turned back to Sam.

"When I came to this school, I felt like I was invisible," Alyssa explained. "Nobody noticed me. It was like I wasn't even there."

"So what?" Sam interrupted, immediately starting to become upset. Was Alyssa trying to imply that just because she was lonely, that was a valid excuse to try and make him miserable.

"Have you seen yourself?" Alyssa said. "Look at how many friends you have. Janet, her brother, that nurse assistant girl, Brenda, your sister, and nearly all the class. Even the school janitor likes you."

Sam started to get glazed again even though he realized just how inappropriate it was given the situation. He'd heard enough to decipher what Alyssa was getting at; she was jealous of all the attention he'd been getting.

"I was upset, so-"

"So you decided to bully me, is that it?" Sam asked, cutting Alyssa off. "So because I, for once, had a nice life, that means I deserved to get picked on, is that right?"

Janet face palmed, befuddled at how the conversation had gone downhill so fast. Alyssa, meanwhile backed away slowly, lest Sam strike out.

"No, you didn't deserve that," She claimed. "I was wrong."

"If I didn't deserve it, why did you do it?" Sam asked, taking a step forward. "I didn't do a single thing to you, and you decided to make me miserable? Are you a sociopath or something?"

"...No," Alyssa said.

"Do you have Asperger's syndrome?"

"No."

"Are you mentally retarded?!"

"No!"

"Then why do you act like that?" Sam asked, jabbing a finger into Alyssa's chest, shoving her into a wall. k

"You have no problems, yet you want to act like your life is Hell," Sam accused, cornering to against the wall. "Well, I was orphaned not long after I was born. I spent most of my life stuck in an orphanage, where I was treated like some kind of freak. Any friends I had were driven away by my sisters! One day, I'm forced to leave the orphanage and spend two years up and about, alternating between a life in the city and a life in here, both of which were unfulfilling!"

Sam stared at Alyssa hard, and continued.

"In the city, I'm that kid that everyone looks at funny because they think I'm hiding something," Sam explained. "And in the Mirror Dimension, I have to put up with a sister who has a personality disorder! And you're complaining just because you're lonely! You know what, I'd give up whatever I own just so I could be in your shoes, and then, maybe my life would be easier!"

"Sam, that's enough!" Janet snapped, starting to walk towards the two to break things up.

"I'm not forgiving people like her!" Sam declared as Janet began to drag him away. "She doesn't deserve my kindness, or my forgiveness. All people like her do are ruin the lives of people who actually deserve to live."

Sam secretly regretted saying that when he saw the look of utter horror on Alyssa's face. Janet briefly stopped tugging on Sam's arm, and he hesitantly turned around to see her give him a look of utter disgust.

Alyssa tore out of the room, leaving Sam and Janet alone.

She began to pace down the dark hallways, trying to retrace her steps so she could find a way out of the Mirror Dimension. At that point, she wanted to leave and never come back.

"He'll never forgive me," She whispered bitterly to herself. However, as she walked, she accidentally bumped into an older girl. Two other girls were behind her.

"Oh, sorry," Alyssa apologized, then recognized that it was a reflection. "Um, who are you?"

The reflection stared at her, then answered.

"My friends call me Bella."

* * *

 _Reviews are appreciated._


	8. Bully (Pt 7)

_A-Plus Cassiopeia: The mentally retarded part wasn't exactly meant to be funny..._

 _Al Drin Hoshizora: I have no idea how Slappy came into this. I also didn't quite understand what you said about Isabella._

 _BookMast3r: You can say that again._

* * *

Mirror Isabella stared down at Alyssa blankly, not knowing who she was. Ophelia and Pandora, however, recognized her from the party last night.

"Hey, we know you," Ophelia sneered at the younger girl. "You're than little brat that Sam pummeled because you were picking on him. Isn't that right, Pandora?"

Pandora nodded and grinned.

Mirror Isabella stared down at Alyssa angrily, and she whispered, "Hey, Isabella told me about you two days ago," She recalled. "Said something about you hitting him." She took a step forward towards Alyssa, who backed away.

"Wait a second, I just wanted to apologize to him," She said.

"Sam doesn't need your apology," Mirror Isabella snapped, and grabbed Alyssa by the collar. "He's suffered quite enough. But, as for you, I think you deserve something worse."

The three girls laughed maliciously.

* * *

Sam and Janet stared at each other, both of them burrowing into each others souls with their glares. Each of them found themselves in the same position as the night before; the only difference would be how things would end.

"Sam, why can't you understand that Alyssa wants to apologize?" She asked, her hands in her pockets and her shoulders thrown back. She wasn't planning to run out crying like last time.

"Alyssa is just a brat, okay," Sam replied. "She's selfish. She ignores everything I've gone through and she only thinks about herself. So why are you taking her side?"

Janet told herself she wasn't going to run away. She was going to stay and finish things, or else everything would remain unresolved.

"I'm not taking sides," Janet claimed, taking her hands out of her pockets. "I'm just trying to find a way for both of you to be happy."

"What are you suggesting that I do?" Sam asked, pointing at the door. "That I should go out and apologize to her? Giving her the sense that she can do anything and people will only have to blame themselves."

"No!" Janet shouted, startling Sam. "Stop being so stupid!"

Sam was taken aback; Janet hardly ever used harsh words against anybody. He would've been more offended, but then he remembered how he'd called her an idiot the night before.

"Why am I even discussing this with you?" He asked and turned around. "You weren't there for me when she was picking on me."

"W-What are you talking about?" Janet asked. "I tried to give you advice on how to deal with it."

"Yeah, and it just resulted in me getting a black eye," Sam said as he pointed at the eye in question. "Two days ago, Alyssa is wailing on me and you do nothing. Amanda had to come and help me."

"But, Sam..."

"Save it, Janet," Sam interrupted. "You took Alyssa's side and not mine. You abandoned me when I needed you."

For a moment, there was silence. Sam faced the wall, secretly wondering what Janet was planning to do. However, of all the things he expected, he did not expect Janet to violently grab his arm and turn him around to face her. He was astonished to see tears in her eyes.

"Moron!" She shouted at him through tears, grasping Sam's shoulders with an iron-like grip. "Don't you see how selfish you're being? I know you depend on me, but don't you understand how much I depend on you, too? How could you just disregard that?!"

Sam stared at Janet silently, not moving out of her grip.

* * *

Alyssa screamed out in pain as she was roughly slammed into a tree in the forest. Mirror Isabella, using her transparent extra arms, held Alyssa in the air and slammed her into the tree again.

Mirror Isabella, along with Ophelia and Pandora, laughed out as Alyssa squirmed in a desperate attempt to free herself. It was futile, of course. Mirror Isabella slammed Alyssa, face-first, into the tree again, harder this time.

"It hurts, doesn't it, bully," Mirror Isabella taunted as she hung Alyssa upside down. "People like you deserve this. You're nothing but scum."

She slammed Alyssa into the tree again, and she fell soundlessly onto the ground. Mirror Isabella grinned and walked past Alyssa, and snapped a tree branch off of the tree. She walked towards Alyssa, and raised the branch over her head.

Alyssa shielded her head as Mirror Isabella struck her. She had no chance of fighting back, so the only thing she could hope to do was block the pain as much as possible until Mirror Isabella wore herself out.

For several seconds, Mirror Isabella whacked Alyssa repeatedly with the branch, using it with the effectiveness of a baseball bat. She was surprisingly adept at using it, and she wasn't random at where she struck. She hit the same arm, in the same joint, over and over again, to increase the pain.

"Stop!"

Mirror Isabella stopped swinging the branch mid-strike. Curiously, she dropped the branch and turned around to see who had spoken. Alyssa took the opportunity to get up and climb up a tree to hide.

Mirror Isabella saw that it was none other than David. When she saw it was him, she scoffed and signaled for Ophelia and Pandora to flank him.

"You have a lot of nerve showing up here," She said, folding her arms cockily.

David realized how much trouble he'd gotten himself in; he was facing the three girls who hated him the most. However, he tried to remain calm.

"Look, beating up this girl isn't going to solve anything," He tried to reason with Mirror Isabella. "What sort of example are you setting for you? Why don't we just talk things out and try to remain reasonable. You know, be big kids about this."

Mirror Isabella stared at him, looking like she may be convinced. Then, she nodded to Ophelia, and she punched David in the gut, causing him to come crashing onto the ground.

"So much for that," David wheezed out as he lay sprawled on the ground.

* * *

"How could you, Sam?" Janet asked as she wiped the tears from her eyes. "I mean, I know I wasn't there for you when Alyssa was bullying you, but I tried to be there for both of you at the party."

When Sam didn't respond, Janet continued, "I know you need me, but don't you realize that I need you, too? I helped you see the good in people, and you helped me to think for myself. I need you just as much as you need me."

Janet stared at the floor, avoiding Sam's gaze. Seconds later, Sam dove forward and hugged Janet.

"I love you, Janet," Sam said as he embraced her. "I thought of you and your brother every night since I was adopted. I wept for you last night, because I was worried that you'd never forgive me. Today, all I could think was forgiveness from you."

"I love you too, Sam," Janet whispered, hugging him back. "I don't know what I'd do without you."

The two lay locked in each others embrace, until Sam whispered out, "Hey, where's Mirror Isabella? She should've arrived by now."

Janet looked up. "Well, if Alyssa left by the time Bella... arrived... oh no."

Grabbing Sam's wrist, Janet raced out of the room and down the hallways, repeating, "Oh no! Oh no! OH NO!"

* * *

David was thrown against the tree and fell onto the ground hard. Ophelia and Pandora hadn't beaten him too badly; all they'd done was toss him around a bit. But even then, it still hurt.

Mirror Isabella walked up. "You're an idiot, David," She snapped down at him. "Defending this bully? You're no better than she is. What kind of brother are you to my Sam?"

Alyssa had watched everything go down from the top of the tree. For a moment, she shook with fear. However, as she heard Mirror Isabella's words, she found a newfound courage.

"You're wrong."

It was a whisper, but it floated right into Mirror Isabella's ears. The girl wisped around with the movement of the wind, and she watched as Alyssa climbed down the tree to face her. Her body was bruised, and she felt she could hardly stand, but she faced the three girls.

"I'm not a bully, you are," Alyssa said, pointing a finger at Mirror Isabella. Ophelia and Pandora backed up as they saw the look of rage on Mirror Isabella's face. She didn't move, however, and simply stared at Alyssa, silently daring her to continue.

"I was a bully, I admit it, but I'm no longer one," Alyssa continued, taking time to take a deep breath. "But now I see that the only bullies around here are the three of you."

Mirror Isabella floated a few inches off the ground and hovered towards Alyssa, who nevertheless continued.

"You beat me and that boy over there," She pointed at David, who was just starting to get up. "You mocked him, and me. You accuse him of not being a proper brother. Well, you're no proper sister in my eyes."

Mirror Isabella was nearing Alyssa now, looking more enraged than ever.

"So, who's the bigger bully?" Alyssa asked, breathing heavily. "I'm no bully; it's you!"

Mirror Isabella stopped just as she was a foot away from Alyssa. She stared down at Alyssa, glaring and wishing to strike her. However, a voice cut through the eerie silence.

"Bella, stop!" Sam said as he and Janet arrived. Immediately, both of them threw themselves between Mirror Isabella and Alyssa.

"This girl is no longer a bully," Sam declared, then added, "And you will not lay a finger on her."

* * *

 _Reviews are appreciated._


	9. Bully (Pt 8)

_Guest: Why thank you for the applause._

 _Al Drink Hoshizora: Yeah, well they're mirror people. Hitting them with a computer monitor won't do much._

 _A-Plus Cassiopeia: Well's, it's Mirror Isabella. She's the sort of person you have to deal with._

* * *

Sam faced off against Mirror Isabella, shielding Alyssa and Janet from her. Ophelia and Pandora watched from afar, curious to see how things would culminate. David had gotten to his feet, and observed, fearing the worst.

"Sam what on earth are you doing?" Mirror Isabella asked as she placed a hand on Sam's forehead to feel his temperature. "You haven't caught heatstroke, have you?"

"No, it's not that," Sam said as he removed her hand from his head. "I just can't allow you to hurt her."

Mirror Isabella's face shifted to that of confused anger. Seeing this, Janet said, "Don't do it, Bella."

Ophelia and Pandora hid behind David, who was secretly astounded at their cowardice. However, he didn't say a word,and continued to watch the verbal confrontation continue.

"Why?" Mirror Isabella asked, befuddled. "What has this brat done to deserve your sympathy? Isn't this the girl who gave you a black eye."

Sam closed his eyes for a bit and sighed, then opened them and said, "Yes, she is. She did other things, too. But I see now that it was in the past, and I have to let it go or else nobody will be happy."

"Let it go?" Mirror Isabella asked, dumbfounded. "Sam, do you hear yourself? You're just letting you get off, scot-free?"

Sam turned around and inspected all the bruises on Alyssa. "Honestly, I think she's already gotten more than an ample punishment at this rate," He said.

Mirror Isabella grabbed Sam by the shoulders and shook him. "Sam, are you crazy?!" She shouted in his face. "You're just going to forgive her for what she's done. What kind of logic is that?!"

"I don't know, maybe you should ask yourself that since you nearly killed Amanda two years back," Sam said as he calmly shook Mirror Isabella's hands off of him. Mirror Isabella froze at that. Sam grinned.

"Or when you sicced your gal pals on David and Janet?" He recalled.

"Now, hold on Sam..." Mirror Isabella started.

"Or when you set the orphanage on fire..."

"Look, there's no need to..."

"Or, for that matter, when you trapped the whole city in a mirror..."

"Stop it!" Mirror Isabella shouted, defeated. "Okay, you win. I'll leave the brat alone." With that, she backed off and signaled for Ophelia and Pandora to follow her as they left.

The moment they were gone, David breathed a sigh of relief, then ran up to join the three younger kids. Janet, meanwhile, was inspecting Alyssa's face. She had a few bruises on her face and shoulders, but was otherwise fine.

"Oh my gosh," Janet whispered as she tapped a bruise on Alyssa's cheek. "Oh no, this is all my fault. If only I'd gotten here sooner..."

"Hey, it's alright," Alyssa said, her head still somewhat ringing from the blows she'd received. She looked at Sam and then said, "Well, I guess this is what it feels like to receive a thrashing."

"How you can joke about something like that is beyond me," Sam said, shaking his head. Then, he said, "Let's just go back to my room."

With that, the four headed out of the forest.

* * *

Once all four of them were back at Sam's room, Sam sat next to Alyssa on his bed.

"Look, Alyssa, I am so sorry for what my sister did to you," He apologized. "My sister can get overprotective at times." Alyssa nodded in response.

"Also, I'd like to apologize for my behavior today, and last night," Sam said. "That beating was uncalled for."

"So was the one I gave you," Alyssa pointed out. "Speaking of which, you were right; my actions were selfish. I'd like to apologize for that as well."

"Apology already accepted," Sam said with a smile. Before he could speak further, Isabella walked in, rubbing her sore nose.

"Ugh, I feel sick..." She moaned, then turned and saw Sam sitting with Alyssa, along with David and Janet.

She stared at Alyssa for a moment in shock, and removed her hand from her nose.

"Let me guess: it's a long story," She said after a while.

The four children could only nod.

* * *

 _Well, that's the end of my first story arc. But it is FAR from the last. R &R, as usual._


	10. Strawman (Pt 1)

_A-Plus Cassiopeia: Now, hold on, Sam and Alyssa are much to young for that._

 _Al Drin Hoshizora: Wow, reading your review causes me to realize the irony of the girls using violence and the boys using their words. Not that those don't happen in reality, it's just, fiction usually portrays the opposite._

* * *

 **Strawman**

* * *

It was the soccer finale in the Crystal City Independent School District. During this time, the parents and friends of those participation had arrived to watch the games.

The soccer match was for the third graders. Which included Sam's class. The boys in the third grade were taking part in the soccer match, with one person sticking out like a sore thumb: Janet.

She was the only girl who had joined.

Currently, Sam and Janet's team were tied with the rival team by a 9-9 margin. With time running out, the next goal would determine the winner. One boy on the opposite team, who had white-blond hair and hazel eyes, had the soccer ball, and was kicking it towards the next. Everyone else was too far away to catch up to him, except for Janet. She ran right next to him, trailing him to keep him from scoring. The boy tried to turn away, but Janet was fast, and caught up to him each time.

From the stands, the families of the soccer players watched on, cheering for their specific team.

"Go, Janet, go!" David shouted, unusually excited at the moment. "Come on, you can beat 'im!" Isabella was taking the time to record everything on her video camera.

"Come, on make me proud!" Brenda encouraged, standing up from the stands and waving her arms ecstatically. Janet took a brief moment to nod to her supporters.

At the edge of the stands, Amanda watched the game with her mother and her sister.

"Janet really is a good soccer player, don't you think, Alexis?" Amanda commented to her sister.

Alexis was a girl around David and Brenda's age. She had somewhat tanned skin and a dusting of freckles on her face and shoulders. Despite not being biologically related to her, Alexis looked strikingly like Amanda, but her orange hair was of a different shade to Amanda's Venetian blonde hair.

Alexis watched the games, not responding to Amanda. She had a bitter look in her eyes as she kept watch on Janet, and only Janet.

The blonde boy was nearing the goal, and Janet had started to run in front of him, trying to block him. Then, there was a hurricane of dust kicked up by Janet, obscuring everyone's views. However, everyone saw the soccer ball soar out of the dust and fly off into the rival teams' next, scoring for Sam and Janet's team.

Normally, everyone would've been cheering. Instead, they all wondered what had happened.

"Wait, I got this, everyone," Isabella reassured, holding up the camera. Everyone began to crowd around the camera to watch what had happened.

On the recording, they saw Janet trip and fall just as the boy kicked the soccer ball at the net. The ball was kicked right into Janet's face, and bounced off her forehead and soared into the other net, scoring.

Everyone stared silently at the recording, at a loss for words.

"...Huh," Was all David managed to say. Eventually, however, everyone started cheering and screaming and applauding for Janet.

Janet, at that point, didn't hear any of the cheering. Instead, she just lay on the ground, dazed from getting struck in the face with a soccer ball. She saw stars for a few moments until Sam walked over and pulled her to her feet.

"We won, Janet, we won," Sam told her. Janet nodded, still dizzy, but she forced a smile. Sam held Janet's arm in the air, signaling everyone else to continue cheering.

The only one not cheering was Alexis. She just continued to stare at Sam holding hands with Janet, and slowly, her bored expression turned to a sneer.

* * *

"That was a great game you played, Janet," Alyssa told Janet as everyone began to head home. Janet's siblings were joining them on the walk.

"Yeah, real fun," Janet droned, still feeling the effects of the soccer ball to the face.

"You mean like THIS!" Sam said had flung the soccer ball right in front of Janet, just a hair-length away from hitting her. Janet jumped in shock, then said, "Don't do that."

Out of the corner of his eye, David noticed Alexis whispering something to a group of other girls, and sneaking a few glances at Sam and Janet. Suspicious, David ushered his siblings to walk faster. He didn't like Alexis, or anything she had to say.

It didn't take long until he got the itching that Alexis was following them. His feeling was soon proven correct when Alexis shoved her way past him and stepped in front of the kids.

"That was a fine game you played, Janet," Alexis congratulated in a snide tone. Janet nodded, but she did feel a sense of worry; Alexis wore the sort of grin that would put one on edge.

"Oh, hey Alexis," David said in a dry tone and then started pushing Sam and Janet pass her. "If you excuse me, we should be going home."

"Oh, what's the rush, David?" Alexis asked, following them. "I just want to talk to your sister."

 _That's what I'm afraid of,_ David thought. However, Janet released herself from his grip.

"Don't worry, I can spare a few minutes," Janet reassured him. David would've argued, but he was too tired. Reluctantly, he took Sam and Isabella and headed home, wondering what Alexis planned to tell Janet.

Once the other kids were gone, Alexis led Janet into the woods. Once they were there, Janet began balancing on a tree branch.

"You're one great soccer player," Alexis said sarcastically. "But, something worries me."

"What is it?" Janet asked, concerned. She hoped Alexis wouldn't comment negatively on her soccer skills.

"It's just, the only person you ever hang out with is that boy," Alexis claimed. "What was his name? Dam, Cam..."

"It's Sam," Janet corrected.

"Yeah, him," Alexis said, and folded her arms. "Don't you find it kind of weird that he's practically only friend?"

"Oh, Alyssa's my friend, too," Janet pointed out. "And your sister, Amanda."

"But you hardly ever hang out with them," Alexis retorted. "It's just that boy."

"What are you getting at?" Janet asked. "Sam's my friend, and my brother."

Alexis walked up to Janet and held her hands. "Oh, Janet, you're just growing and learning," She said in a sweet tone. "The world can be an unfair place, especially for little girls like yourself. And the last thing a girl needs as a role model is a little boy."

"But Sam's my brother," Janet said blankly.

"Yeah, and?" Alexis asked. "The point is, Janet, you shouldn't be looking to Sam for guidance. What does he know about how to be friends with girls."

"What are you suggesting?" Janet asked, beginning to become unnerved.

"Oh, I'll talk to you about it tomorrow," Alexis said. Then, she patted Janet on the back and sent her off on her way, calling off, "Meet me at my house. I'll be your friend, from now on."

* * *

 _Reviews are appreciated._


	11. Strawman (Pt 2)

_A-Plus Cassiopeia: I actually got the idea from my class playing soccer not too long ago._

 _Guest: A strawman is a character archetype used in fiction, who only exists to be proven wrong. Try and see who the 'strawman' in this story is._

 _BookMast3r: More than that._

* * *

"I hope Alexis doesn't have anything bad to say to Janet," David told Sam as they walked down the neighborhood with Isabella. Brenda had left for her own house by that point.

"Oh, come on, what does Alexis have to say to Janet?" Isabella asked, rolling her eyes. "Not that Janet would listen to her."

As the three were nearing their home, a rock was thrown against Sam's head. He turned around in surprise, and saw a group of girls in front of him. David turned around as well, and saw that they were the same girls Alexis had whispered to at school.

"Hey, what was that about?" Sam asked as he rubbed the back of his head.

"Sam and Janet, sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G!" The girls mockingly chanted, and laughed. Sam stared at them in befuddlement.

"WHAT?!" He shouted in disbelief. "Me and Janet are brother and sister!"

"But you love each other," The girl who appeared to be the youngest said. "Your best friend is a girl, after all."

"That doesn't matter!" Sam shouted, irate, and he summoned a ball of ice. "Now, get lost, before I give you a brain freeze!"

The girls weren't planning to irritate Sam to that point. Quickly, they turned around and fled.

"What was that all about?" Isabella asked the two. Sam could only shrug, and David pouted.

"I bet it has something to do with Alexis," He guessed. "That girl was whispering something to them at school."

"Alexis is an idiot," Sam said. He scratched the back of his head, and then reassured, "I'll bet that by tomorrow, it'll all stop."

* * *

It didn't stop.

The very next day, Sam and Janet were playing jump-rope with each other when the same group of girls showed up.

"Aw, look that that," One of them said mockingly, pointing a finger at the two. "The boy is playing with his widdle best friend. Hey boy, can you teach MY sister how to play skipping rope next time."

The girls started laughing, and Sam stopped jumping and glared at them. He began to roll up his fists and was about to walk towards them when Janet grabbed onto his hand.

"Don't do it, Sam," She whispered to him. "They're just idiots. They aren't worth it, trust me."

Sam softened up a bit, but then one of the girls called out, "Yeah, listen to her, you brute!"

Immediately, Sam fired a blast of ice at the sidewalk, causing the girls to slip on the ice and fall down. Sam smirked at that, but it vanished when Alexis inexplicably showed up.

"Temper, temper Sam," She berated, mockingly patting him on the head. "You need to toughen up a bit."

Sam immediately started to feel guilty, especially since he'd just done overreacted in front of Janet. He didn't say anything, though. With a smirk, Alexis walked up towards Janet.

"Hey, we can talk, can't we?" She asked. "I did tell you to come see me, remember."

"Yeah, but, me and Sam were-" Janet started, but Alexis cut her off.

"Don't worry about him, he's fine," She said and started to pull Janet away. "I'll be your friend for today, instead of him."

Sam opened his mouth to protest, but no words came out. He only watched as Alexis dragged Janet down the sidewalk, away from him.

* * *

A half hour later, Alexis and Amanda were reading books together.

"So, how long have you known Sam?" Alexis asked in a dry tone.

"A few months," Janet said. "He's my brother, and my best friend..."

Alexis put down the book. "Really now?" She scoffed. "And how close as friends are you too?"

Janet stopped reading. "We'd do anything for each other," She said. "Whatever games Sam wants to play, I'd play it too."

"And what about the reverse?" Alexis mused, holding up her book. "Do you think Sam would play EVERY game that you would want to play. He'd have the draw the line at something."

Janet thought. "Well..."

Alexis walked up to her and put a hand on her shoulder. "I would never turn you down," She claimed. "I'll always be there for you. I'd like to see if Sam would do the same."

Janet opened her mouth to say something, but then closed it. She was at a loss for words this time.

Alexis smiled. Now, there was just one other thing to do.

* * *

After Janet and Alexis had left, Sam had wandered towards the lake, and was entertaining himself by tossing pebbles into the water. Soon enough, he would be going home.

Suddenly, he felt somebody shove him forward towards the lake. Fortunately, Sam could fly, so he flew into the air before he landed inside the lake. Spinning around in a fury, he was surprised to see it was Alexis.

"What are you doing here?!" He shouted angrily, and summoned a ball of ice. "Get out before-"

"Before you what?" Alexis asked, folding her arms and smirking. "In case you haven't figured it out yet, me and Janet are buddies now."

"So what?" Sam asked, folding his arms. "Who cares if you two are friends?"

"I care, because I want you to stop playing with her," Alexis snapped harshly. The sentence struck Sam harder then when Alexis had shoved him.

"What do you mean?" Sam asked, confused. "Janet's... my friend."

"Not anymore, boy," Alexis sneered, and grabbed Sam by the leg and yanked him down. "Janet doesn't need some boy playing games with her. She should be sticking to people more similar to herself, and you, your own."

Sam stared at Alexis, stunned.

"But, Janet's my sister..." He started before getting cut off.

"No, she's not!" Alexis said. "You're adopted, so stop acting like Janet has any relations to you." With that, she turned and left, leaving Sam at a total loss for words.

* * *

 _Reviews are appreciated._


	12. Strawman (Pt 3)

_Al Drink Hoshizora: Alexis is going to make more appearances, and let me tell you: you haven't seen her at her worst yet._

 _A-Plus Cassiopeia: Don't give the shippers ammo._

* * *

The next day, Janet and Alexis were playing hopscotch with Alexis' friends. Janet recognized them as the girls who'd been mocking Sam, but she tried to ignore it. They seemed rather friendly, at least when Sam wasn't to be concerned.

Janet looked at her watch, and said, "Oh, it's dinnertime at my house. I better be going."

Janet was fibbing, really. It wasn't dinnertime, she was just bored, and she wanted to leave without offending the other girls.

"Sure, but we're playing jump rope later this afternoon," One girl said. "You can join us, if you want."

"Actually, you will join us," Alexis firmly stated. "Isn't that right?"

"Sure," Janet said with a smile. "I'll just bring Sam and-"

"NO!" Alexis unexpectedly shouted, startling Janet. Noticing Janet's shocked expression, she added, "Uh, no. It's just, having him with us would kind of put some of my friends off. Isn't that right, girls?"

The other girls nodded in agreement. Janet frowned, and her ponytails drooped.

"Go along home, girl," One of the girls said, shooing Janet off. Janet turned around and slowly began to walk home, lost in thought.

* * *

When Janet got home, the first thing she saw was David and Isabella playing a war video-game with each other. Currently, Isabella had the upper hand in the game.

"I'm winning, I'm winning!" Isabella gloated as she and David went to war with each other in the game. Sweat was pouring down their foreheads as they became lost in the game.

Janet started at the two, and her eyes widened in shock.

"Hey, you two are playing with each other," She said, pointing a finger at the two.

"Yeah, why wouldn't we?" David asked, half-conscious that Janet was talking to him. He was still determined to beat Isabella.

"Well... you're a boy... and..." Janet paused and realized she didn't have an answer.

"So what if he's a boy?" Isabella asked, still focused primarily on the game. "I'm still beating him."

"You are not!" David shouted, turning his gaze from the screen. Isabella took the opportunity to slice his head off in-game.

"Then what was that?!" Isabella gloated victoriously, as David stared,in disbelief, at the screen. Then, he slammed his fist on the couch, shouting,"Darn it!"

"Huh," Janet said, having a moment of clarity. She realized what she had to do.

"Where's Sam?" Janet asked.

"He went to go visit Bella," Isabella explained as she restarted the game. Janet nodded, then took off upstairs.

* * *

"I don't know what to do, Bella," Sam confessed to Mirror Isabella at the hospital. "Janet's my sister, and my best friend, and that creep is turning her against me."

Mirror Isabella nodded. "I should've expected it would've happened sooner or later," She said, faux sympathetically. "The truth is, it was bound to happen sooner or later."

'What do you mean?" Sam asked, confused.

"Janet's beginning to grow tired of you," Mirror Isabella claimed. "She's moving on to someone else, and you should, too."

When Sam didn't respond, Mirror Isabella continued, "If Janet's going to turn your back on you, you turn your back on 's as simple as that."

The doctor then came in, saying, "Sam, your time is up. You better be leaving now."

Sam reluctantly left the hospital, thinking things over. There was no way he was going to turn his back on Janet, so that meant he'd have to find a different option. He was so lost in thought that he didn't notice Janet racing towards him.

'Sam!" She shouted, startling him. Before he could react, Janet hugged him.

"Janet, what are you doing?" Sam asked, too surprised to hug Janet back. "I thought you were with your friends."

"Anyone who tries to keep me from you isn't my friend," Janet said. "Alexis just wanted to separate us. But I know now that she's wrong."

"Oh, Janet..." Sam said with a smile, and hugged her back. Then, he added, "What about Alexis?"

Janet broke out of the embrace. "I have an idea..." She said, grinning.

* * *

Alexis and her friends were at the playground, waiting for when Janet would arrive. One girl was standing by the bench, staring off at the sidewalk to see when she would come.

Eventually, she saw Janet appear over the horizon. "Hey, she's there!" The girl announced, then she looked closer, and to her shock, she noticed someone else next to Janet.

"Hey, it's that boy!" Another girl shouted. "Alexis, what is he doing here?!"

Alexis jumped from the swings and walked onto the sidewalk. Indeed, Sam and Janet were with each other.

Alexis ran towards the two. "Janet, what's he doing here?" She asked."I thought we told you he wasn't allowed to come here."

"Why not?" Janet asked, folding her arms. "He's my brother."

"Adopted brother," Alexis reminded. "Janet, get him out of here right now."

"I'm not leaving," Sam said, and casually walked over to the swings. "Deal with it."

Alexis stared at Janet in disbelief. Janet just winked and followed Sam to the swings.

"This is unbelievable!" Alexis complained. "She's honestly still friends with that boy!"

"I don't see what the problem is," Sam said calmly as Janet sat next to him on the swings. "If it bothers you so much, why don't you leave?"

"No, I won't leave," Alexis shouted, offended. "I have just as much right to be here as you!"

"Exactly," Janet said, glaring at Alexis. "Sam shouldn't be evicted from this place, or as my friend. I don't care if he's a boy, I wouldn't miss out on him for the world."

Alexis and her friends stared at the two in disbelief. Eventually, Alexis glared and threatened, "I'm telling everyone you're friends with a stupid boy!"

"Go ahead, see if we care!" Sam called out.

Alexis blew a raspberry at them and said, "Come on, girls, we're leaving." With that, she and her friends left the playground.

Sam and Janet watched them leave. "How does Amanda put up with a sister like her?" Sam asked, chuckling.

"It doesn't matter," Janet said, smiling. "What does matter is that you're my brother."

"That a girl," Sam said, and he reached over and wrapped his arm around Janet's shoulder. The two smiled and laughed.

* * *

 _As I said before, this won't be Alexis' final appearance. So, readers beware!  
_


	13. A Visit From Mirror Isabella (Pt 1)

_Selene: That was the whole point. That there shouldn't be a boundary between that._

 _A-Plus Cassiopeia: Well, that arc is pretty much over. Now, to the next one._

* * *

 **A Visit From Mirror Isabella**

* * *

"Oh crap, this is bad news!" Felix Barret exclaimed as he put down the phone after receiving a call from the Mirror Dimension's metal hospital. Turning to his wife, he said, "Honey, we have to warn the kids!"

Janet walked into the room. "Wait, what's happening?" She asked. "Are we moving?"

"It's worse," Felix said. He whispered into Janet's ear, and she gave out a small squeak.

"Oh, no!" She whispered, rubbing her ears. "What are we going to tell Sam?"

"Tell me what?" Sam asked as he, Isabella and David entered the room. "Is there something we should know about?"

Felix sighed. "Yes, there is," He admitted. "The mental hospital called us. Mirror Isabella's coming to visit us."

Sam gasped. Isabella spit out her drink.

David, who had only been half-paying attention, nodded calmly and said, "Oh, okay, I'll go get the refreshments." With that, he exited the room.

A moment later, David slammed the door wide open, his face in shock.

"WHAT?!" He shouted.

* * *

Ten minutes later, the four kids were venturing through the Mirror Dimension, all of them mumbling to themselves on the matter at hand.

"I can't believe the hospital didn't tell us sooner," Sam complained. "They usually warned us she was coming a week before."

"I guess they wanted to play a cruel joke on us," David suggested, glaring. "I just wonder where the jerk is."

"Hey, now we shouldn't be talking about her behind her back," Janet scolded, straying ahead of the group. "Remember, she is a mental patient, and she's been through quite a lot."

"She seemed sane enough to me," David pointed out.

"Yeah, well maybe she's saner now," Janet suggested. "Maybe she's changed for the better."

Janet was too busy talking to the other three that she didn't notice that Mirror Isabella was right in front of her until she walked right into her.

Instantly, Janet jumped back, and stared at Mirror Isabella. She had an expressionless look on her face, and her arms were hanging limply by her sides.

"Hi, Bella," Janet said, hoping to make a good impression. "We heard you were coming to visit us."

Mirror Isabella stared at Janet, not saying anything. She just nodded.

"So, you want to play a game or something?" She suggested. "Hopscotch. Jump rope. Tag?"

Mirror Isabella continued to stare at the four. Then, she smiled.

* * *

 _Reviews are appreciated._


	14. A Visit From Mirror Isabella (Pt 2)

_A-Plus Cassiopeia: You'll find out._

* * *

"Bella, put her down, right now!" Sam demanded angrily as he and the others stood over a cliff. Mirror Isabella was currently holding Janet and hanging her above the chasm with her transparent arms.

"Mirror Izzy, this isn't funny!" Janet pointed out as she was hung upside down, feeling the blood rushing to her head. "I think i'm going to puke!"

"You see Arachne yet?" Mirror Isabella asked, and Janet shook her head.

Sam groaned. They'd all heard stories of it; Arachne was some giant spider-human hybrid that supposedly lived in the chasm and devoured anyone who entered its territory. Some people and animals had entered the chasm, and never returned.

Sam personally didn't believe in Arachne; after all, there were other dangerous creatures living in the chasm other than the mythical giant spider. Mirror Isabella, who was afraid of such things as the Bogeyman, was more inclined to believe such tall tales.

David was getting fed up. "Bella, if you don't put my sister down right now, so help me, I will jam this stick right up your dorsal!" He picked up a rather large stick and aimed it at her. Mirror Isabella glared at him, somewhat put-off by the threat, but she nevertheless lay Janet down on the cliff.

"There, that wasn't so bad, now was it?" She asked, folding her arms. The other kids were still glaring at her.

"Well, what are we still doing here?" Mirror Isabella asked, feeling a prickly feeling in the back of her neck. "Let's get out of-"

She was cut off, however, when the cliff side that Mirror Isabella and Janet were standing on suddenly collapsed, causing both of them to plummet off the side of the cliff.

"JANET!" Sam, David and Isabella all shouted and they dove towards the end of the cliff. Mirror Isabella and Janet were both screaming out in pure terror.

"We're going to die!" Mirror Isabella screamed as she fell through the air like a ragdoll.

"But you can't die in the Mirror Dimension!" Janet pointed out as she fell. "In fact, can't you fly?!"

Mirror Isabella's eyes widened as she remembered that she could, indeed, fly. Immediately, she floated off into the air, whispering, "I'm alive!"

"Hey, what about me!" Janet asked as she fell. Mirror Isabella groaned and she flew down after Janet. At the cliff side, Sam, David and Isabella watched in pure terror.

Mirror Isabella grabbed Janet moments before she hit the ground, and the two floated down towards the ground harmlessly. Once they were on the ground, Janet dropped onto the ground, dazed.

"You... alright, Bella?" Janet asked as she saw blue stars swirling over her head.

"Sure I am," Mirror Isabella said, dusting off her dress and straightening her hair. "Why wouldn't I be?"

At the cliff, Sam sighed. "Now, you two fly back up here," he instructed. He then quietly added to David, "Then I'll kill Bella."

"Oh, sure thing," Isabella called up towards them, which the three found weird as to how she could hear them consider how far apart they were. Janet herself had gotten to her feet, and as she rubbed her sore head, she glanced to the ground and saw a shadow in front of her.

"Uh..." Janet whispered, looking up from where the shadow was, and hoping it was just a small, harmless animal. She hoped wrong.

"Augh!" She screamed out hoarsely when she saw the source of the shadow. As she did so, the trio at the top of the cliff saw it too, and they also screamed out in pure terror. The only one who hadn't seen it was Mirror Isabella, who was facing up at the cliff.

"Hey, what are you all screaming about?" She asked, somewhat annoyed, and turned to Janet. then she saw it.

It stood over twenty feet tall. It's black, hardened exoskeleton glistened. Four long, spidery legs, more than six times as long as Mirror Isabella, stepped around the two girls. It's upper body was humanoid, with long, muscular arms with long claws. Its shoulder blades protruded out like giant butcher knives. It's giant, fanged mouths breathed blue mist out and into Mirror Isabella's face. it had glowing blue eye,s that stared into Mirror Isabella's very own eyes. At the top of its head, were four horns.

It was Arachne.

Mirror Isabella's jaw dropped when she saw it. The massive creature breathed heavily, glaring down at Mirror Isabella. It's long legs skittered around the two children, eying them hungrily. Janet, overcome in terror, hid behind Mirror Isabella.

"...I knew it!" Mirror Isabella shouted out triumphantly. "I knew you were real!" She started laughing out victoriously.

Immediately, Arache brought down one of its long, sword-like legs down towards Mirror Isabella to impale her. However, Janet tackled her out of the way.

"Oh yeah, we're in danger," Mirror Isabella whispered to herself as realization kicked in. She and Janet got to their feet and faced off against Arachne, who towered above them.

Arache let out an unearthly screech and swung its claws at the two. Mirror Isabella transformed her arm into a sword and clashed against Arachne's arms in what looked like a duel. However, Arachne was much stronger than even Mirror Isabella, and she knew she couldn't hold out for long.

Eventually, Mirror Isabella and Janet fled and hid behind a large rock. Arache let out another screech, and approached the rock menacingly, its sharp feet skittering across the ground.

Janet shut her eyes and breathed heavily, terrified.

At the top of the cliff, Isabella turned to the boys and said, "We have to go save them!"

"Yeah, let's save Janet!" Sam proclaimed, then added, "Then I'll kill Bella."

* * *

 _Reviews are appreciated.  
_


	15. A Visit From Mirror Isabella (Pt 3)

_A-Plus Cassiopeia: Bella and Darnell, huh? You know, Bella does has a phobia of monsters..._

 _BookMast3r: The obvious answer._

 _Guest: That was funny? Huh, I underestimate my humor..._

* * *

Mirror Isabella wasn't waiting anymore. Arachne was moments away from uncovering her and Janet, and if they stayed behind the rock. Janet was doomed. Not Mirror Isabella herself, because she couldn't die in her own dimension.

As Arachne closed in, Mirror Isabella sprang upwards, soaring into the air at the massive arachnid. Arachne was too stunned to react, and Mirror Isabella slammed her fist into Arachne's jaw. The monster stumbled backwards in pain.

Janet took the opportunity to run out from her hiding spot. "Mirror Isabella, are you crazy?" She asked. "You could get yourself killed!"

"Shut up, Janet!" Mirror Isabella snapped, not wanting to get distracted. She summoned a vortex of electricity and fired it at Arachne with enough force to topple him to the ground. With Arachne temporarily stunned, Mirror Isabella flew towards Janet and grabbed her by the hair and began to fly upwards.

"Ow, you're hurting me!" Janet shouted in pain.

"It's your hair or your life, Janet!" Mirror Isabella pointed out. She wasn't actually concerned for Janet's safety; she just knew nobody would forgive her if she let Janet die.

"Get up, get up!" Isabella urged from the top of the cliff. Arachne, meanwhile, had recovered from Mirror Isabella's attacks. Though still injured, he mustered enough energy to race towards the wall of the cliff and punch it with enough force to cause the cliff side to shake.

At the top of the cliff, Isabella, David, and Sam all stumbled from the force of the blow. Arachne then spat a spiderweb out of its mouth, ensnaring Mirror Isabella and Janet. With a scream, the two plummeted down the side of the cliff.

The two landed at the bottom of the cliff. Mirror Isabella wasted no time in slicing through the webs that trapped her, and upon being freed, she slashed at Arachne, cutting one of its legs. Arachne bellowed in agony and slashed at Mirror Isabella and Janet, who had also gotten freed.

Janet noticed that Arachne had shattered a wall opening that led to a cave. Tugging on Mirror Isabella's arm, she said, "Look, in there!"

Mirror Isabella immediately took off into the cave, dragging Janet in with her. Arachne tried to follow, but it was a futile effort. He was much to big to fit into the cave. Giving a growl of frustration, Arachne moved back.

Mirror Isabella and Janet breathed heavily, relieved at their escape. However, it didn't take them long to relief that their troubles were far from over. Arachne stood at the exit of the cave, waiting for when the girls would eventually have to leave.

"What do we do now?" Janet asked, staring at Arachen fearfully.

Mirror Isabella hummed to herself, then turned in the other direction. "We'll go there," Mirror Isabella suggested. "See if we can find an exit."

Janet was out of options, so she saw no reason to argue. She followed Mirror Isabella as the two headed down the corridors of the cave.

The cave was dark, and wet. If it weren't for the fact that Mirror Isabella's aura illuminated the dark, Janet would practically be blind. Briefly, she tried to hold hands with Mirror Isabella to ease herself, but Mirror Isabella immediately slapped her hand away, hard enough to leave a bruise.

"Don't get all touchy-feely with me," Mirror Isabella warned, pausing to stare at Janet harshly.

For a moment, Janet backed away, intimidated. Then, she mustered the courage to return the glare, putting on her 'intimidation' face.

Mirror Isabella almost laughed when she saw Janet's expression. It wasn't the sort of face people usually make when they want to scare someone; Janet's eyes were widened open like circles as she stared in Mirror Isabella's general direction, and her mouth was a thin line. Her cheeks were puffing red, and Mirror Isabella could tell she was holding in her breath.

"Okay, Janet, I don't know what you're trying to accomplish, but it's not working," Mirror Isabella scolded.

Janet finally dropped the expression and started breathing normally. "Okay, Bella, why do you not like me?" She asked, folding her arms.

"Why do I not like you?" Mirror Isabella asked, though she heard clearly.

"Yeah, you despise me," Janet said. "Since the moment I befriended your brother, you've been trying to get rid of me. I ask you why?"

"No, I don't hate you," Mirror Isabella, though she was lying through her teeth. She actually did hate Janet.

"I just hate what you're doing," Mirror Isabella continued. "Bringing my brother in a world that just doesn't understand him."

"What are you talking about?" Janet asked. "We love him."

"Oh, you may like my brother, but can you honestly tell me that everybody will?" Mirror Isabella asked. "You and I know that some paranoid moron will go about with his gun and pull the trigger."

"Hey, nobody's going to go around killing kids," Janet reassured.

"Seriously, Janet?" Mirror Isabella said, nearly face-palming. "I haven't been to your dimension a lot, and even I know that people will kill kids. Over stupid reasons, too."

Janet began to feel a prickly feeling in the back of her neck. It dawned upon her that some people would kill children, but she hoped it wasn't a very many people.

"Yeah, but is your dimension any better?" Janet pointed out. "You and I know that some paranoid mirror person will go about with their super powers and blast me, my brother, or any other Earth-dimension person."

"That won't happen," Mirror Isabella scoffed. "Who do you know would do something like that."

"...You," Was all Janet needed to say. The moment she said that, Mirror Isabella dropped her superiority facade and gave Janet an uncomfortable look. After a moment, the two continued down the path.

The two didn't speak another word until they reached an exit that led outside.

"Yes, we made it!" Janet shouted out, and she rushed outside. Mirror Isabella followed her.

The moment they were outside, they rushed up the cliff to where they'd last seen Sam, David, and Isabella. However, once they arrived, the three were gone.

"What, where are they?" Mirror Isabella asked.

"They must've gone looking for us," Janet guessed, and looked down at the bottom of the cliff. Arachne was still standing guard at the entrance, but she noticed something else.

"Bella... what are those?" Janet asked, pointing Mirror Isabella at a swarm of creatures emerging from a different cave entrance.

"Oh my gosh," Mirror Isabella whispered in disgust, recognizing them instantly. "I've seen them before."

"What are they?" Janet asked.

"They're termites," Mirror Isabella explained. "Giant termites."

* * *

 _Reviews are appreciated.  
_


	16. A Visit From Mirror Isabella (Pt 4)

_A-Plus Cassiopeia: Nah, Mirror Isabella doesn't have a phobia of termites. Just what would your reaction be if you saw a swarm of termites bigger than you._

 _Al Drin Hoshizora: Didn't expect the whole review to be focused on that one part. But, Janet's eight years old and this is scary for her. Mirror Isabella doesn't have much to fear since she can't die in her dimension._

* * *

"Is that thing still there?" David whispered to the Crystal siblings as they hid behind the same rock Janet and Mirror Isabella had taken cover behind earlier. Sam and Isabella peeked from out the rock, and saw that Arachne was still guarding the cave entrance.

"No, he's still there," Isabella reported. David groaned, agitated.

"I hope my sister is safe," He said, staring out from the rock and watching Arachne, whose back was turned to them.

The three were so busy inspecting Arachne that they didn't notice the swarm of giant termites nearing them from behind. The three would've all been dead meat if one of the termites' snapping jaws hadn't alerted Sam to their presence.

"Guys, look out!" He shouted and shoved the other two out of the way as the nearest termite snapped at them.

David got up from the ground. "Are those... termites?!" He shouted, aghast. "Ew! I hate termites!"

"THEN you'll despise these," Sam replied as the termites skittered towards them.

"How did they get so big?" David asked as he backed up against the wall.

"Don't ask," Isabella replied bluntly, and then fired a lightning bolt at a section of the swarm, knocking them into the air. Arachne immediately noticed the commotion and left the cave entrance and skittered towards the fight going on, but the kids took no notice.

For the next several minutes, Sam and Isabella fended off the swarm by firing lightning bolts and fire blasts at the termites. David could do nothing but stand there, watching idly. He felt a sense of envy as he was helpless in the situation.

One termite approached Isabella from behind, snapping its jaws at her. Suddenly, it was snatched into the air by Arachne. The giant, spider-like monstrosity pierced the termite with its claws, and proceeded to rip it apart to devour. The other termites began to scatter as a result.

"We have to get out of here!" David shouted, which everyone else was thinking at the moment. However, a massive blast of fire erupted from the sky towards the termites, scorching them into charred pieces. The fire extended to surround the remaining swarm.

The three kids looked up to see Mirror Isabella and Janet. The two landed on the ground.

"Are you okay?" Janet asked when she saw Sam had a slight burn on his arm from the fire Mirror Isabella had caused.

"It's okay," Sam brushed off, but suddenly, a termite emerged from the wall of fire and tackled Sam, knocking him to the ground. The termite snapped its jaws and advanced towards Sam.

"Sam!" Janet shouted, and she immediately picked up a sharp, jagged stone slab and jabbed it into the termite's massive head. The termite screeched out in agony, and Janet continued to stab it in the head. Eventually, the termite collapsed, dead.

Mirror Isabella watched this in shock. "Whoa..." Was all she said. However, Arachne suddenly emerged from the wall of fire and struck Janet, knocking her against the wall. The small girl landed noiselessly on the ground, numb.

"Janet!" David shouted, and he would've rushed to go help her, but the fire blocked his path. Arachne's long legs allows it to crawl over the fire and approach the unconscious Janet. Arachne snapped its jaws as it reached out to grab Janet.

"Don't you dare touch her!" Mirror Isabella shouted out unexpectedly, and she soared through the air. Arachne spun around in shock, and Mirror Isabella slashed into one of Arachne's legs with her sword-like arm. A noticeable gash was apparent on the leg now.

Arachne screeched and stumbled backwards in pain. Mirror Isabella soared forward and slashed the same wound, increasing the gash. Blood began to ooze out from its leg. The other kids watched in shock.

Arachne was clearly weakened by pain by now. Mirror Isabella approached Arachne, and swiftly severed its leg. Arachne let out a defeated roar, and stumbled onto the ground. Struggling to get up, Arachne simpered away, blood oozing from its leg.

By now, the remaining termites had left the area as well. The kids were alone.

David held an unconscious Janet in his arms. He stared at Mirror Isabella in shock. "You... saved my sister's life," He whispered out as realization hit him.

Mirror Isabella turned to face him, looking just as confused. "I... did?" She asked, as if for clarity.

In most situations, there'd be cheering and congratulations. Instead, the kids just stared at Mirror Isabella awkwardly, trying to process how quickly all of the events had happened.

"Let's... go home," Sam said after a while. At that point, nobody felt like arguing.

* * *

"I take it you kids had quite the adventure," The local psychiatrist said when the kids returned to the hospital and he saw how bruised and dirty they all were.

Mirror Isabella groaned and stared to the side. She fumbled with her hands, and let out a sigh.

By now, Janet had awoken, and the other kids had explained to her what had happened. She stared at Mirror Isabella in awe.

"I guess my visit is over," Mirror Isabella said, shrugging. "Okay, take me to the hospital." With that, she walked up towards the mental hospital, her hands behind her back. Janet, despite her injuries, ran up and tugged Mirror Isabella's arm.

"Wait a second..." She said. Mirror Isabella turned around, expecting a verbal backlash. Instead, Janet hugged her.

"You saved my life," She whispered. "Thank you."

She broke out of the embrace, and she and the others left for their house, leaving Mirror Isabella with the psychiatrist. Mirror Isabella stared as Janet skipped off happily.

Eventually, however, she smiled.

"You know, I think I'm starting to like that kid," She admitted to the psychiatrist before joining him in the hospital.

* * *

 _Reviews are appreciated.  
_


	17. Fear (Pt 1)

_Al Drin Hoshizora: Well, it's a start, definitely._

 _A-Plus Cassiopeia: It could've been worse, after all._

* * *

 **Fear**

* * *

Little Sally Rogers was a good child. She listened to her parents, went to bed on time, and always did as she was told.

It wasn't her fault she was now in a mental hospital.

Nobody could quite explain what had happened. It went by slowly at first, but eventually, everyone noticed how Sally always left the lights on when she went to bed. How she never wanted to go anywhere without someone to watch her. How she was always seen looking over her shoulder, as if someone was watching her.

Her appearance began to change, too. Her skin started shrinking down, until her arms and veins jutted out. Her skin turned a ghastly pale, and black spots appeared all over her body. Her green eyes became pale and unfocused. Her hair began thinner, and started to fall out of her head. Her face became wrinkled and decayed. Her fingers became claws, and her mouth began to turn into a hollow void.

Her parents sent her to a psychologist, and then the doctor, and even to the police, but nothing helped. They tried to ask her what was happening, but all they got was inaudible gibberish.

It was only one night when her parents found with stabbing at the wall with a butcher knife that they eventually transferred her to the mental hospital for her to be treated.

Little did anyone know, that would be the last time anyone ever saw little Sally Rogers again.

* * *

Sally didn't sleep. She was incapable of sleep now. She would've left the lights on, but the doctor forced the lights shut so Sally could go to sleep.

Sally lay in her bed, the covers over her head. Her eyes shifted from under the covers, shivering as she hoped _it_ wouldn't come.

She was the only one who had seen _it._ Nobody else had seen it happen. Nobody had seen how it stalked the girl, day and night, no matter what she did. At first, it only stalked her in her sleep. Then, it appeared to her when she was awake in bed, when the lights were off. And then, even when the lights were on, it would still appear before her.

That was just the beginning. When she walked across the sidewalk for school, it followed her. As she studied for her tests, it hovered above her. When she played during recess, it was standing by the swings, staring at her.

She didn't know what it was, why it was here, or what it intended to do.

Every time Sally saw it, she could feel she was becoming weaker, frailer. The very sight of _it_ slowly, but surely, dragged her closer to the abyss, and she couldn't find a way to escape.

As much as she wanted to fight it, she knew it was coming. It would not leave her alone.

 _Drip. Drip. Drip._

She heard it. The sounds of drops of water hitting the floor. That was the sounds it made when she knew it was coming closer. The first time it had happened, she wrote it off as a sink dripping with water. But now, the every sound of it was as if she was being visited by a demon. She'd stopped bathing or washing her hands, for the very sounds of water reminded her of it.

 _Psst. Psst. Psst._

She could see it was right in next to the bed. She hid herself under the covers, shaking frantically as she tried to hide herself, even though she knew it was futile. Her eyes were wide open with fright, staring up at the bed covers.

Even through the thick covers, she could see it. It was a silhouette of something, that she couldn't decipher. It leaned over the bed covers, over her, like a wolf over its prey. Its hands rested on the covers, feeling Sally's body.

 _Ssh._

That was the last sound Sally ever heard. One second later, _it_ phased through the covers, and engulfed her like a demon straight from Hell.

Sally screamed, and the thing opened its mouth, as if to feast upon her. Then, Sally's eyes went black, and all senses shut off. Just like that, Sally was gone.

* * *

Fear pushed Sally downwards through its portal. That was where it took all of its previous victims. Only it could make the portal form, and only it could decide who got in, and who got out.

Fear noiselessly plunged Sally's corpse into the black void, which had formed on the bed. It was about to enter through itself when it heard a sound. The sound of children laughing.

Fear appeared at the window and looked down to see who it was.

It saw five children. One was a boy with brown hair, who lagged behind with his arms folded behind his back and a bored expression on his face. The other was an older girl with red hair, who was holding hands with a slightly younger girl with brown hair. Another girl with brown hair in ponytails was skipping ahead in front of the others. But what really caught Fear's attention was the boy with a blue streak in his hair.

He flew above the others, shouting at them to hurry up. Fear knew instantly that he had to be a mirror person. In the centuries that it had been on the planet, he had stolen few mirror people.

Fear reminisced the last time he had taken away a mirror person. It had been hundreds of years ago, but Fear remembered it all. It remembered all of its victims.

Fear stared at the boy intently. Yes, after centuries of staying away from mirror people, today, it would resume its chance to steal another mirror person.

Fear stared at the boy, and knew immediately what he feared. Fear always knew what someone was afraid of.

Fear slunk away into darkness, content with knowing that this boy would be its next victim.

* * *

 _Reviews are appreciated._


	18. Fear (Pt 2)

_Al Drin Hoshizora: Oh please, nightmares go away. Fear won't._

 _A-Plus Cassiopeia: Not Hell, but it's similar._

 _I am a burglar: You think that would stop the bogeyman from getting you?_

* * *

"Night, mom," Sam said to Agatha as she kissed his forehead. He happily flew into Janet's room, where she had already fallen asleep. Flicking off the lights, Sam flew into bed.

Sam yawned and tucked himself into bed, ready to fall asleep. As usual, he scanned the room first, just in case there were any bugs or other nuisances, then he would fall asleep. When he saw none, he closed his eyes and prepared to fall into a deep slumber.

 _Drip._

Sam heard it, but he kept his eyes closed. He was sure it was just the sink in the bathroom.

 _Drip. Drop. Drip. Drop._

Now, Sam opened his eyes. Though he was certain it was the sink, he felt as if the sound was coming from inside the room. He got up from the bed, and stared around the dark room. He saw nothing.

 _Psst. Psst. Psst._

Sam enhanced his night vision, brightening his irises as if they were flashlights. He scanned the room more thoroughly, and this time, he saw something.

It was a figure in the corner of the room. Even with his night vision on it, it was pitch black, like a shadow. However, Sam recognized the silhouette.

"...Bella, is that you?" He asked, staring at the unmoving figure. It definitely looked like her. It had her hair, her figure, her height. But something just didn't feel right about it. Something looked wrong.

When Sam blinked, that was when he saw what it was, for the figure then appeared right in front of him, so close that he could see its face clearly. It looked like Mirror Isabella, but... its skin was pitch black. Its eyes were two giant, empty sockets that looked like two empty pits. Its jaw stretched all the way to its ears, as if someone had inflicted a Glasgow grin onto it. Its skin was riddled with holes and pimples, and was covered with stripes and scars. Its fingers were unnaturally long, stretching to about three times the length of Sam's own fingers.

Sam stared at the figure, his eyes widened to the limit. His jaw was hanging open, stricken silent in utter terror.

The... _thing_ that was in front of him opened its jaw, so wide that it could engulf Sam's entire head in one gulp. But, rather than devour him, the thing sucked in some air. As it did, a blue mist was expelled from Sam's open mouth, and flew into the thing's mouth instead.

Sam started to feel weak as the mist left him. He had no idea what was happening, but it felt as if his life was being drained from him. He could hardly move, only managing to twitch his arms and fingers.

As it would happen, his finger flicked Janet in the head, waking her up with a jolt. As she awoke, the thing vanished into thin air, as if it had never been there.

Sam started breathing heavily, still weakened. He'd hoped that once the thing had vanished, he'd regain his strength. However, he didn't.

"Sam, what was that?" Janet asked, looking around the room. "I... saw something."

Sam turned to stare at her, still breathing. "You saw it, too?" He asked. Janet shrugged.

Sam would've tried to explain more, but he felt drained. In spite of what had just transpired, he fell into unconscious.

* * *

Sam felt just as weak in the morning. It was an effort just to get out of bed, to the point that Janet had to help him down the stairs. She even had to seat him at the table for breakfast.

His family was there, too, all of them looking as happy and cheerful as ever. He wanted to tell them what had happened, but it seemed the incident had also affected his speech pattern.

"Mmmu... b-b-boo...hhhhhh," Was all he could get out.

"Uh, Sam, what happened to you?" Isabella asked when she noticed how weird he was talking. It also didn't go unnoticed that he looked a little different, too: He was a little thinner, he had noticeable eye-bags, his head was hanging, and his eyes seemed unfocused.

Janet, who was closest thing to a witness of what had happened, decided to try to explain things.

"Look, last night, something was in our room," Janet explained. "I think it did something to Sam."

The family stared at the two, confused. "Uh, what did it look like?" David asked.

Sam pointed a finger at Isabella, who gasped as all eyes went on her. "Hey, I had nothing to do with anything!" She denied. "I was sound asleep last night! Maybe it was Mirror Isabella."

"H-holes... for eyes," Sam stuttered, his speech starting to return to normal. "Shadow-like... stole m-my... energy..." He started to drift off into unconsciousness again, but David threw a glass of water in his face, jolting him awake.

"Look, Sam, you probably just had a nightmare," Felix suggested. "It happens to everyone."

Sam nodded.

"Look, why don't you just stay home if you're so tired," Agatha suggested. "From the looks of it, you'll fall asleep in school, too."

Sam nodded again and started to get up, only to trip and fall. Janet excused herself and started half-dragging, half-carrying Sam up to her room. She settled Sam into bed, and kissed his forehead.

"I wish you get better," She said, then exited the room. Sam sighed, and drifted off to sleep.

* * *

Sam remained asleep until nighttime, during which his family had all fallen asleep as well. He had woken up by that point, and started to feel a little better. He began to think that maybe had just experienced a nightmare, and that had simply tired him out.

 _Drip. Drip. Drip._

Sam immediately threw away that thought when he heard the noise again. He threw the covers over his head and shook as he tried to hide himself.

For a few seconds, he heard nothing. Then, he felt something start crawling onto bed with him. It crawled right on top of him, and felt his face.

Sam stopped breathing, and shut his eyes. Then, the covers were pulled off to reveal his head, and Sam opened his eyes to see the same nightmare-inducing face he'd seem the night before.

However, it looked different now, more ghastly. What looked like oil... or was it blood?... was streaming out of the empty sockets. Its mouth was hanging open, as i it were unhinged, and it was breathing heavily. Its hair was dirty and ragged, and its bones jutted out from its back.

What happened before happened again. Once more, the thing opened its mouth, and once more, it sucked the blue mist out from Sam's mouth. Sam felt even weaker than before, now. He started to wonder if he'd die.

The creature shut its mouth, content. Then, it vanished, leaving Sam alone in the room.

* * *

Felix and Agatha were sound asleep when they heard a knock on the door. With a groan, Agatha got out of bed and walked over to the door, creaking it open.

Sam stood in the hallway, his eyes looking tired and sleepy.

"Mom, can I sleep in your room?" He asked, sounding even more woozy than before.

* * *

 _Reviews are appreciated.  
_


	19. Fear (Pt 3)

_Al Drin Hoshizora: Well, Fear essentially is the bogeyman... just ten times as scary as usual._

 _A-Plus Cassiopeia: Just one of thousands._

* * *

It didn't stop.

Sam spent the next day sleeping in his parents room again. He hoped that whatever was bothering him wouldn't dare confront him while he was with his parents.

However, just as the lights went off, Sam heard the familiar _Drip, Drip, Drip_ of the creature as it approached the bed. Sam wanted to warn his parents, but he was stricken silent. It was as if he was being muted.

The thing hovered up above Sam, allowing him to see it more clearly. It looked even more disfigured than it had been the other night. It barely resembled Mirror Isabella now; it was unnaturally thin to the point of anorexia; its mouth, stretched to the ears, were crooked into a sickening grin; Its eye sockets made up 90% of its head now, and bore into Sam's soul. It also had bat-like wings, and flew above the bed, staring down at Sam.

Sam was too frightened to fight back as the thing opened its mouth and began to suck the life right out of Sam. He could feel himself growing smaller and frailer as the thing fed on its energy.

When it was finished, the thing evaporated into mist.

* * *

"Sam, what happened to you?!" David asked when he saw the practically deformed Sam the very next morning. He was unbelievably thin and wiry, and he was a full head shorter than David. His head was lowered, and he was hunched over.

"Uuuughh..." Sam groaned in response.

Felix walked up to David. "Ugh, son, you think he turned into a zombie?" He whispered. David shrugged his shoulders.

"Uuuuuuggggghhh," Sam groaned louder, trying to communicate, but eventually he shut his mouth. He tried to take a step, but fell forward onto his face.

"Uh, I think we need to take him to a doctor," David suggested.

* * *

"Well, we've examined him as best as we could, but he seems to have no real sickness," The doctor explained to the Barrets after a thorough examination. "I suggest a good rest will cure him."

"Nnnnoooooooo," Sam groaned when he heard that.

* * *

Sam slept the only other place he felt safe at; in the Mirror Dimension. When Mirror Samson saw him, his expression was akin to someone who had seen the Devil himself.

"Sam, what happened to you?" Mirror Samson asked, horrified.

"Don't... want to... talk about it," Sam replied, and flopped down onto the bed.

"Sam, you better fix yourself, because if you die, that won't be good for either of us," Mirror Samson pointed out, then left the room.

Sam sighed to himself, and tried to close his eyes.

 _Drip. Drip. Drip._

"Oh, shit..." Sam whispered to himself, before remembering that he wasn't allowed to swear. However, at that point, he didn't care.

Turning his head, he saw it standing at the side of the bed. Its appearance hadn't changed much, but it still horrified Sam. It didn't even move, except for its mouth. It opened its jaw, and sucked in. Immediately, the mist flew out of Sam's mouth. The mist was dimmer, and fainter, and Sam felt like he was on the verge of death as he was drained of energy.

It stopped just short of that, and the creature then vanished.

* * *

Janet gawked at Sam the next day. It was astounding at how his appearance had changed so drastically in only a few days. He was literally pencil-thin, and his head looked bigger than his whole body. His fingers looked like claws now.

"Sam, what's happening?" She asked, horrified.

"Ugh, it..." Sam mumbled, then tore out of the house.

"Sam, wait, let me help you!" Janet called out, following after him.

Sam had no intention of involving Janet into this. He didn't want to put her in danger, too. Instead, he opted to flee, as far away from the house as possible. Despite his severely weakened state, he kept far ahead of Janet.

Sam didn't know how far or how long he ran, but eventually, he found himself in the middle of the city. Hundreds of people, crowding on the streets, swarming around him.

Sam looked around, feeling trapped, boxed in. It was as if there was no escape. He'd never felt so helpless before.

 _"Sam..."_

 _Oh, no,_ Sam thought to himself. It couldn't be coming after him. Not here, not now.

Sam looked around the crowd of people, and he heard gasps of shock arise. Turning to the main source of the sound, he saw the thing, standing on the other side of the sidewalk, staring at him, its jaws in a disgusting leer.

Stunningly, other people saw it, too. People gawked at it, others scrambled to get away from it.

"No," Sam whispered, taking a few steps back. Then, he charged at the creature, shouting, "NO!"

He didn't know what he planned to do. All he knew was that he collided with the creature, only to feel it vanish in its grasp. Sam crashed into the window of the shop so hard he left a crack in it.

Sam heard the creature laughing. Turning around, he saw the thing standing on the street, staring at him with a taunting expression. But he didn't just see it; wherever he looked, it seemed everybody wore the thing's face. Hundreds, thousands, of deformed, mutilated faces, staring at Sam with their pitch black eye sockets.

"NO!" Sam shouted, and flew off into the air. He soared towards the one place he felt comfortable in; the forest. It was the only place he felt he could escape to.

Sam flew up against a tree, breathing heavily. His eyes darted around, inspecting every tree. Sweat poured down his forehead.

Then, just as Sam felt like he was alone, he felt two clawed hands reach out from behind the tree and grasp his shoulders.

 _"Samson Crystal..."_ The voice rasped out. _"There's no escape. You're with me now."_

* * *

 _Reviews are appreciated.  
_


	20. Fear (Pt 4)

_Guest: Well, things do have to reach that "bad" moment. I mean, a villain like Fear isn't someone that you can take lightly._

 _Matt: You could've posted it on the actual Goosebumps United fanfiction. Admittedly, even I was pretty sad when I finally finished it._

 _Al Drin Hoshizora: At this rate, a nightmare is the least of Sam's worries._

* * *

Sam backed away from the tree slowly, staring at it in terror. The two clawed hands retreated behind the tree. After a moment's hesitation, Sam transformed his arm into a blade and cleaved the tree in half, only to find nobody behind it.

 _"Don't you know the stories they tell of the bogeyman?"_ A chilling voice reverberated throughout the forest. It echoed throughout the trees, so Sam couldn't tell where it was coming from.

 _"You never thought you'd come face-to-face with the bogeyman himself-self-self,"_ The voice rasped, this time into Sam's ear. Sam slowly turned around to see the grotesque face of the thing. It barely resembled Mirror Isabella now; instead, it looked like a demon straight out of Hell.

"W-What are you?" Sam asked, turning the blade against the thing.

 _"It's been a long time since I've taken a mirror person before,"_ Fear said, not moving towards Sam. _"I remember how pleasant it was."_

"Taken?" Sam whispered, then pointed the blade at Fear's neck. "No way! You're not taking me!"

 _"Yes!"_ Fear replied, and soared up into the air. _"And then, I'll take your family, too. Maybe I'll start with your darling sister, Janet."_

"You'll never do that!" Sam shouted out, and he immediately flew towards Fear. The demonic being before him simply laughed a high-pitched cackle that echoed throughout the forest.

For several minutes onwards, Sam relentlessly attacked Fear. He unleashed a flurry of punches aimed at Fear's face. Then, he began to slice at Fear, then kicked him, then unleashed a wave of fire and ice. Each time, Fear simply shrugged off the attack, as if Sam had barely even touched it.

Eventually, Sam wore himself out. He floated in the air, breathing heavily. Fear took the opportunity to summon an electrical charge and unleashed it on Sam, striking him in the chest and propelling him into a tree with such force the tree was smashed into a million pieces.

Sam lay against the tree, groaning in pain. Fear floated down towards Sam, grabbing him by the neck and pinning him against a tree.

 _"Normally, I'd drain you for about a week,"_ Fear whispered to Sam. _"But with power like yours, it leaves too much to leave to you. I'll just kill you now."_

Fear opened its mouth to suck Sam of the last of his life force. Sam closed his eyes, awaiting his death.

"Hey, what are you doing to Sam?!"

Sam snapped open his eyes, and Fear turned around. Janet stood innocently in front of the two. When she saw Fear, she gasped out and stumbled backwards.

Fear let go of Sam and began to shape-shift, Letting out a bestial roar, Fear shape-shifted before Janet's very eyes. Its skin sprouted fur as black as night; its eyes transformed into the color of blood; its face contorted into that of a canine; it grew larger, and began to take the form of a wolf. Eventually, Fear had transformed into a massive werewolf.

Fear lunged at Janet, who was paralyzed with fear. With a strike from its paw, Fear swatted Janet into a tree. Then, it pounced towards her, grabbed her in its massive paws, and roared in her face. Janet screamed out in terror.

Fear opened its jaws, and blood poured out. Then, he sucked in, and a colorless mist flew out of Janet's mouth and into Fear's jaw. Janet began to choke, and started to become skinnier.

"No!" Sam shouted, and used his remaining strength to lung at the two and pry Janet from Fear's grasp. He rested a half-conscious Janet on the ground, and turned to see that Fear had shape-shifted into a demonic little girl again.

Its jaws in a fanged grin, Fear took a step forward. Sam stood his ground, standing between Fear and Janet. He didn't care what Fear did; he would not let it hurt Janet.

Fear fired a blast of energy at Sam, who stood, prepared to take the blow. He closed his eyes, putting his fears to the side and replacing it with courage, for Janet's sake.

After a few seconds, Sam opened his eyes, wondering why he didn't feel anything. Then, he realized that the energy blast had dissipated upon contact with him. He stared at Fear, who looked just as dumfounded as him.

Sam, confused but nevertheless invigorated, charged at Fear, who stumbled backwards and opened its mouth, as if to scream. Suddenly, rays of black and red shot out of Fear's mouth, nose and eyes, and surged into Sam. The two stood there as Sam unconsciously absorbed Fear's energy.

After a few seconds, Fear dropped onto the ground, thoroughly weakened. Sam, on the other hand, felt that most of his power and energy had been restored. It felt great, after days of feeling on the verge of death.

Fear got to its knees, groaning. When it saw that Sam had been restored of its energy, it gasped, then flew out of the forest.

Janet got to her feet and approached Sam. "W-What... happened?" She asked, resting on Sam's shoulder.

"I... don't know," Sam admitted, confused. Suddenly, a horrifying thought entered his mind as he saw where Fear was heading.

It was heading towards the city.

"Oh no!" Sam shouted, and he grabbed Janet and the two of them rushed after Fear as it soared towards the populace.

* * *

 _Reviews are appreciated._


	21. Fear (Pt 5)

_Guest: Well, we're reaching the climax of this arc now._

 _Al Drin Hoshizora: Fear shape-shifted into a lycanthrope. Janet's scared of dogs and wolves (remember the dog attack in MP?)_

 _A-Plus Cassiopeia: And not just them..._

* * *

Isabella stared at Mirror Isabella in the mirror of her school. Since it was common knowledge she was a mirror person, nobody really cared much.

"Bella, something strange is happening to Sam," She told her. "He's been getting sicker, and thinner, and the doctors don't know what's happening."

"Maybe spending time with those Barrets finally took their toll on him," Mirror Isabella replied casually.

Isabella glared. "Bella, this is no time for joking," She told her. "I would've expected that you of all people would be concerned about-"

She stopped when she saw Mirror Isabella's expression change to that of idleness to horror. Her eyes widened, and her jaw dropped open. She pointed behind Isabella, who turned around.

There, standing in the hallway, was some lich creature. It was a skeleton, covered in a black robe. It held a scythe in its bony hands, and stared at Isabella with its pitch black eyes.

Isabella gawked at the creature, her mouth opening and closing, without a word being said. The lich flew towards her, engulfing Isabella. Its jaws opened, and sucked a blue mist out of her mouth. Isabella thrashed in its grip, slowly feeling weaker than before. When the thing was finished, it dropped Isabella onto the ground. Then, it vanished.

"W-What was that?" Mirror Isabella asked, terrified. As she stared at the weakened Isabella, she felt like she herself had been drained of energy, too.

* * *

David was on the school computer, typing up every illness he could think of that matched Sam's condition. However, aside from sleep paralysis, he was getting no results.

"D-David..." He heard Janet say. Craning his head around, he saw surprised to see Mirror Isabella, holding a mutilated and terrified Janet. Janet's face was riddled with scars, and Mirror Isabella glared at David with a malicious grin.

"Mirror Isabella..." David said, shocked, then stood up. "Let go of my sister!"

Mirror Isabella's grin widened, and her index finger transformed into a claw. She placed the tip of her claw on Janet's neck.

"No Mirror Isabella, don't do it!" David said, prepared to lunge at Mirror Isabella. However, the reflection promptly slit Janet's throat. Her lifeless body dropped to the ground.

"No!" David shouted, dropping down to Janet's corpse. He cradled the body, checking to see if she was alive. Suddenly, Janet's eyes opened to reveal empty sockets. Her jaw opened to reveal rows of fangs. She sucked in, and a colorless mist flew out of David's mouth. She held in in place as she sucked the energy from him.

Once finished, she dropped a weakened David onto the ground. Fear got up as the Mirror Isabella puppet dissipated. It was regaining the strength it had lost to Sam. Now it just had to find the others closest to Sam.

* * *

"You think this will look good on my birthday in three months?" Brenda asked nobody in particular as she stared at herself in the mirror, trying out a pink dress.

"Janet always did like pink," She mentioned, prancing in front of the mirror. Suddenly, the door swung open, and Brenda spun around. There,a t the door, was Janet... with her decapitated head in her arms.

"What the..." Brenda whispered in shock, and then she broke into a scream. Janet's disembodied head cackled and sucked the energy from Brenda's mouth. Brenda toppled onto the ground, unconscious, and Fear dissipated and flew off.

* * *

"Hello, this is 911," Felix said on the phone. "I'm here to report that two of our children are missing. Their names are Sam and Janet Barret. They didn't go to school today, and-"

"Felix," Agatha whispered, pointing to the door. Felix turned his head, and saw Janet's mutilated body on the ground. Her body was riddled with cuts and bruises, and blood was pouring on the ground.

"Janet," Felix whispered, dropping the phone. He and Agatha rushed over to her body, and Agatha held her up.

"Oh my Lord," She whispered. "Our daughter..."

The mutilated Janet suddenly grinned, and opened her mouth. Suddenly, the life energy was sucked from both parents mouths, causing them to drop onto the ground, weakened. Janet then stood up, and cackled in a demonic laugh.

Fear was finally at a renewed strength. It then set off into the city.

Soon after Fear left, the door opened, and Sam and Janet ran in, carrying the half-conscious David and Isabella. They knelt down to their parents.

"What happened?" Sam asked.

"We saw Janet..." Felix explained, worn out. "She was... hurt. We were so scared."

Sam stared down at the two, then looked up, a determined look on his face.

"We have to stop it," He said. "Get the car keys. We're going now."

* * *

Fear soured around the city, making its presence known. For an hour since it had attacked the Barrets, it had terrified the populace. It would go up to a random bystander, morph into its worst fear, and suck the energy right out of him or her. With every energy it drained, it gained strength.

The city was littered with the weakened bodies of the populace. They were all pale, and sickly looking.

Fear laughed as it accosted a young mother and her newborn baby. It snatched the infant out of stroller, and morphed into an orc. It hissed at the mother.

"My baby!" She shouted. Fear laughed and sucked the energy right out of the mother, causing her to drop onto the ground. It was about to do the same to the infant when it heard a car drive by.

Turning around, Fear saw the Barrets climb out of their car, all of them except Sam looking tired and frail. Fear grinned, and hurled the baby at them. Janet gasped and caught it before it fell.

Fear laughed, and flew up into the air, giving a deafening screech. The Barrets stared up at it, exasperated.

Brenda, now in her regular clothing, rode by on her bicycle. "Janet, is that you?' She asked, grabbing Janet and pressing her face against her chest. "You were at my house. But, you're head was separated from your body!"

Janet grimaced at the thought. Brenda looked up, and saw a pitch black storm begin to spread over the city, casting it into pitch black darkness.

"Okay, what is that, and how do we stop it?" Brenda asked, releasing Janet.

"I don't know," Sam confessed, defeated. As he did, the black storm spread all across the landscape, engulfing the city into darkness.

* * *

 _Reviews are appreciated._


	22. Fear (Pt 6)

_I am a burglar: Is your money really your biggest concern now at a time like this._

 _A-Plus Cassiopeia: Brenda did, too._

 _Al Drin Hoshizora: Not far enough._

* * *

The Barrets could only watch as the city was plunged into pitch black darkness. The entire city had been engulfed by the dark storm above; the only light was the occasionally flashes of blood-red lightning.

The Barrets all huddled close to each other for protection, Janet hidden within the embrace. The storm grew more powerful by the minute, cars and all sorts of vehicles being sent flying in all directions.

"What do we do?" Isabella asked, sounding unnaturally terrified. Nobody answered, because nobody knew what to do.

A crack of lightning, unnervingly close to the family, caused them to jump. The storm appeared to be closer to the ground now. In the midst of the storm, Sam could see other families, all huddled with each other in terror. As he watched them, he saw the mist being sucked out of them and up into the storm, which started to grow even bigger. The families started to look weaker now.

Sam suddenly heard a whisper, so quiet only he could hear it. _"I'll take this whole city,"_ Fear threatened. _"Starting with Janet!"  
_

Suddenly, a crack of lightning caused the family to be sent flying in all directions and come crashing to the ground. Sam got up and saw two ghostly hands emerge from the storm and soar towards a half-conscious Janet.

"NO!" He shouted, racing towards Janet. However, the hands shoved him into the air and into a wall, and Sam collapsed onto the ground, injured. He got to his knees and saw the hands grasp Janet and hoist her up to the heart of the storm.

"Janet!" Sam shouted in horror, running after her. By now, other bystanders were being sucked into the storm. Sam could hear Fear's demonic cackling echo throughout the city.

Sam saw a massive face form in the storm as Janet was dragged closer to it. The face enlarged in size and bellowed at Janet, who screamed in response. As she did, the mist, and her life-force, was sucked out of her.

"Janet!" Sam shouted again and flew up towards her.

"No, Sam!" He heard Isabella call out, and the rest of the family began to shout up to him. Sam ignored them, though; he had to save Janet.

Fear seemed distracted from Janet when he saw Sam come closer. He roared at Sam, who paused for a few seconds in doubt. However, Janet's screaming stirred him out of his thoughts, and he continued towards Fear.

"You let my sister go!" He shouted at the storm. "Do you hear me!"

Fear roared louder, and the flashes of lightning grew louder and more frantic. Sam saw the mist continue to get sucked into the storm, causing it to grow bigger. Nevertheless, he continued his standoff.

"You can't take my family away, you monster!" He shouted out. "I won't let you!"

Fear growled, and a bolt of lightning was shot at him. Sam stood in the air, awaiting the blow. He felt the lightning bolt strike him, and he felt the force knock him away. Stunningly, he wasn't hurt.

Fear seemed shocked. Sam flew towards the face in the storm, and summoned a ball of fire. He then blasted it straight into Fear's mouth.

Fear gave a bellow of agony, and suddenly, a massive ray of black and red was expelled from Fear's gaping jaws. It soared into Sam, and then into the populace. The storm became smaller, and the bystanders present began to regain energy. As the storm decreased in size, sunlight became visible again.

Janet was dropped from the air, and was caught by Sam. Sam flew down to the rest of his family, holding Janet.

"I got it!" Sam told them. "It can't hurt us if we're not scared of it. It weakens it."

Sam rested Janet on the ground and began to soar through the city, shouting repeatedly, 'Don't be scared! It can't hurt you when you're not scared!"

Throughout this all, Fear started to get smaller. It roared out at the citizens, but they started to crowd with each other, facing off with the storm. Sam was at the head of it.

"You'll never take this city!" Sam proclaimed. Fear gave another shout, but this one seemed more out of terror than anger. Sam then summoned a ball of energy, and blasted it into the face in the storm.

The blast of energy rippled throughout the storm, and Fear decreased in size once more. The screaming started sounding less demonic and smaller, and frailer.

Sam flew up towards the decreased storm. "I'm not scared of you, Fear," He told it. "You get out of this city!"

With that, the rays of black and red were expelled across the city, and Fear's storm imploded across the landscape. The city was then covered in rays of sunlight once more as the storm dissipated.

The citizens stared in silence, wondering if Fear was still there.

"Look!" Janet shouted. Sam looked up, along with the rest of the city, and saw a small, frail, gray figure in the sky, locked in a fetal position.

 _"Fear me..."_ The figure whispered out, in a begging tone. It shrank down, and then vanished, its words echoing throughout the city.

 _"Fear... me..."_

* * *

"Sam, thank you for saving us," Janet said to Sam the following night as he tucked her into bed. Since Fear had vanished, everyone had been restored to their normal forms.

"I got to say, it was pretty brave, standing up to the embodiment of fear," Janet pointed out.

Sam shook his head as he flicked off the lights. "Nah, that wasn't the embodiment of fear," He said. When Janet looked confused, Sam winked and said, 'If it was, then it wouldn't of been scared of us."

Janet smiled in response, and the two dozed off to sleep.

And this time, they received no night terrors.

* * *

 _Reviews are appreciated._


	23. The Man She Killed (Pt 1)

_A-Plus Cassiopeia: I agree wholeheartedly._

 _I am a burglar: Money, gold and wealth won't stop fear, buddy._

 _Al Drin Hoshizora: OH NO! SOMEONE'S MOONING ME!_

* * *

 **The Man She Killed**

* * *

It was nighttime. It was the weekends, and Sam and Janet were beginning to doze off for a deep sleep. The two had just started recovering after their entanglement with Fear.

Sam was awoken by the sound of the lights flicking on. The door creaked open to reveal David and Isabella. The two were in their night clothes, and looked half-asleep.

"We heard a noise downstairs," Isabella explained, yawning. "We think some animal got in the house. We're going to go check it out."

"Shouldn't you tell mom and dad?" Sam asked, barely awake himself.

"It's probably just some dumb cat or raccoon," David reassured, and with that, the door closed shut. Sam sighed, and fell asleep, somewhat worried. He looked at Janet, who was fast asleep, and decided that his older siblings would deal with whatever had gotten into the house.

How wrong he was.

* * *

An hour passed. The lights were still on.

Sam was beginning to worry. David and Isabella hadn't come back upstairs yet. Maybe they were having some problems with whatever was in the house.

Slowly, Sam slid out of his bed. As he did, Janet stirred from her sleep. "Sam, what are you doing?" She asked, drowsy.

"Nothing, go back to sleep," Sam said. Janet skeptically stared at him, but nevertheless closed her eyes and lay down on the bed. Sam then took off out the door, and flew down the stairs.

"Isabella?" Sam asked, walking through the kitchen, whose lights were also on. "David? Where are you?"

When Sam got no answer, he walked towards the door to the basement. He noticed that it was pitch black down there Nevertheless, Sam opened the door, and jumped in shock when he saw David.

"Oh, David, it's you," Sam said, his breathing returning to normal. "You frightened me."

Sam then noticed that David wore a look of panic on his face. "D-David?" Sam asked. "What's wrong?"

David was then shoved forward, and behind him, a masked man appeared, a gun pointed at the back of David's head.

"Hands in the air," The man growled. "All three of you."

Sam had no choice but to obey.

* * *

A few minutes later, Sam, David, and Isabella were lined up next to the wall of the basement, their hands up in the air. The armed robber was currently scrounging through the basement, placing any valuables into his bag.

"What do we do?" Sam asked, nervous.

"Hey, quiet!" The robber threatened, pointing the gun at the three before resuming his thievery. Sam wondered if his parents or Janet were awake and had noticed the commotion.

Sam noticed Isabella's transparent arms appear from her back. They slowly approached the robber while his back was turned. The man, however, looked up to the mirror and noticed Isabella's reflections.

With a gasp, the man spun around just as the arms grabbed him. The man yelled out in surprised and beat on the arms in an attempt to free himself. However, Isabella threw the man into the wall.

Unfortunately, the man still held onto his gun, and he got to his knees, pointing it at Isabella. However, David threw a basketball that struck him in the face, knocking him back. Sam fired a blast of ice at the man, but he rolled out of the way.

The man, panicked, got up and fired the gun. The bullet grazed Sam's arm, eliciting a cry of agony. He crashed onto the ground, clutching his bleeding arm.

"Sam!" David shouted in horror, and he and Isabella rushed to his aid. The robber, dazed, got up and stumbled towards the three.

"Y-You're mirror people?" He sputtered, disoriented. He backed towards the stairs, gun trained on them. He had totally forgotten about the valuables.

Isabella got up angrily, and the man shouted, "Stay back!" He pointed the gun, trembling, at her, forcing her to back down. Sam groaned in pain, blood still streaming from his wound.

"You three get back!" The man threatened, growing increasingly nervous. "Get b-"

Before he could finish, the man let out a cry of agony. He dropped the gun and stumbled around, clutching his side. Blood trickled from his side. It took the three kids a few moments to see that a dagger had been wedged into the man's side.

The man collapsed onto the ground, blood streaming from his wound. Sam breathed heavily, shocked at what had happened. He wondered if his parents had gone down and stabbed the man upon seeing him threaten them.

However, when the person appeared into view, the three children gasped in disbelief.

"J-Janet?" David asked, stunned.

The trembling eight-year-old girl slowly approached the man, inspecting his knife injury. Then, she looked to Sam.

"I heard a gunshot so I went to see what was happening, and I grabbed a knife just in case," She quickly explained. She then gasped when she saw Sam's wound.

"What happened?" She asked.

"I'll live," Sam reassured. "What about him?"

Janet turned to the robber, who was bleeding out on the ground. After a few minutes, Felix and Agatha rushed down to see the dying man on the floor. Neither of them said a word. Agatha rushed to Sam while Felix ran to the phone.

"I'm calling the police," Felix stated.

Isabella stared at the robber, and walked over and yanked off his mask. The man had black hair, a gray streak in it, and had a black mustache. Blood was trickling ut of his mouth. His eyes were closed.

Isabella felt his throat, and pulled away when she felt no pulse.

"He's dead," She choked out, and then turned to the trembling Janet.

"You killed him."

* * *

 _Reviews are appreciated._


	24. The Man She Kiled (Pt 2)

_A-Plus Cassiopeia: Well, he'll live, but that doesn't mean he's okay. Bullets hurt, after all._

 _Al Drin Hoshizora: She was checking his pulse._

 _I am a burglar: Well that's what he gets for breaking and entering._

 _WE ARE THE ROBBERY: You mean, Janet killed him. Sam was the one who got shot._

* * *

The police arrived in a short time. The dead robber was soon placed in a body bag and sent off to the police department, whereas Sam was soon put on a stretcher to be sent to the hospital for his bullet wound to be treated.

Brenda, who had arrived when she heard what happened, was rollerblading after Sam as he was placed in the hospital truck.

"Sam, I am so sorry that this happened," She said to him. "This may seem off-topic, but how does it feel to be shot?"

Sam groaned as he looked up at her. "I have... a hole... in my shoulder," He croaked out, before shouting, "HOW DO YOU THINK THAT FEELS?!"

"Well, having superpowers and all, I thought you'd be immune to bullets, like Superman," Brenda mumbled out.

"This isn't a comic book, it's a stinking bullet!" Sam shouted at her. The agony of being shot had taken its toll on his disposition. He was then wheeled into the truck, which drove off down the street.

Now that Sam was gone, Brenda was quick to hurry back into the house. There were multiple police in the house, along with the rest of the family. Janet, David and Isabella were covered in blankets after their experience.

David was sweating profusely, his eyes struck in terror. His mouth was a thin line, and he was staring at the floor. Isabella was breathing raggedly, tears in her eyes.

Brenda roller bladed towards them. "You guys don't seem yourselves," She pointed out. Neither of them responded. Brenda then looked over to where Janet was.

Janet looked like a small puppy, lost and confused. The blanket was wrapped around her whole body, with only her head showing. Her skin was ghastly pale, almost like a ghost, and her hair was ragged and misplaced.

Skating towards her, Brenda said, "Hey, Janet, I know this seems big, but you'll get over it," She said.

Janet shivered. "I... killed him," She confessed.

Brenda stopped. "You what?" She asked. She hadn't truly been informed on all the details at this point. All she knew was that Sam had been shot and the robber had been killed. She hadn't known who did it.

"I stabbed him," Janet confessed, burying her face in her hands. "I took a knife from the kitchen, and I... stabbed it into him until he bled out."

Brenda froze, and backed away a bit. Then, she said, "Well, it's, ugh... hey, remember when we fought Mirror Isabella in the mirror dimension and you killed that wolf? I didn't exactly see it, since I got shot by lightning and all, but Sam told me. He thought it was really cool!"

Janet stared at Brenda, causing her to shut up. "I'm not helping, am I?" She said. Janet shook her head.

Brenda shifted her eyes. "I'm going to be going now, aright?" She said, and skated out the door.

Janet sighed, and covered her head with the blankets. Then, she drifted off to sleep.

* * *

Things weren't quite the same the next day. Throughout the house, there was only silence. Janet almost felt like her family was invisible to her. None of them would leave their rooms.

Eventually, Janet left her room. Slowly, cautiously, she walked down the small hallway, towards David and Isabella's room. She opened the door, to see David on the computer, and Isabella reading a book on her bed, wearing a blue nightgown.

"Hey, guys," She said with a small smile. Neither of them responded.

Janet walked up to David, who didn't respond. She stared at the screen, and quickly saw what he was googling.

 _What happens to children who kill in self-defense?_

Janet backed up slowly. She wasn't a killer, was she?

Slowly, she left the room, her face growing pale. As she closed the door, she heard the bell ringing downstairs. Janet stood in the hallway, unsure of whether to answer it. When the doorbell rang again, Janet felt compelled to go to the door.

When Janet was downstairs, she looked through the kitchen window, and saw that it was Alexis. She was holding a lollipop in her hand.

Janet frowned. She wasn't particularly fond of Alexis, especially after their last encounter. Reluctantly, she walked to the door, and pulled it open.

"Janet, you are just the kid I wanted to see," Alexis said with a smile. Casually striding into the house, Alexis sat down in the couch in the living room, and signaled for Janet to join her.

Janet reluctantly sat down next to Alexis. The two didn't say a word for some time, but just as Alexis opened her mouth, the two heard David ask, "What is she doing here?"

Alexis rolled her eyes. "I'm not here to fight, believe me," Alexis reassured. Handing Janet the lollipop, she said, "I just wanted to ask a question."

"If this is about last night, you better leave, now," David threatened.

"Oh my, then I guess I better be on my way," Alexis said, and got out from the couch. However, Janet said, "Wait, I want to hear it."

Alexis smiled and sat back down. "It's a simple question, believe me," She said. A mischievous smile on her face, she asked, "How does it feel to kill someone."

Janet froze up on that. She wasn't sure why she'd let Alexis ask her the question in the first place.

"Alexis..." David said, glaring daggers at her. Alexis ignored him.

"I mean, to grind that knife into that man's flesh," Alexis went on. "To feel that blood ooze out. Did that make you feel sick, or something? Did it feel good?"

"That's enough," David growled. Janet was currently paling once more, and curling into a ball. At that point, David walked over, grabbed Alexis by the hair, and started dragging her towards the door.

"It felt good, didn't it," Alexis said, grinning. That was the lat thing she said before David violently tossed her out of the house and slammed the door.

David turned towards Janet. "Look, Janet-" He started, but didn't get another word out when Janet immediately ran up the stairs, and into her room.

* * *

 _Reviews are appreciated.  
_


	25. The Man She Killed (Pt 3)

_Al Drin Hoshizora: Just like Alexis. Sorry for the wait._

 _I am a burglar: Robbery is a career?_

* * *

Janet received a phone call the very next day. She'd thought it was Alexis at first, but she was surprised when she found out it was from someone arguably worse.

"Hey, Janet," Came Mirror Isabella's unmistakable voice. She sounded surprisingly cheerful, however.

"What are you doing?" Janet asked, then asked, "And how are you contacting me from your dimension?"

"It doesn't matter," Mirror Isabella said. "Anyways, I heard about your little heroics. I must say, without any sarcasm, that I am deeply proud of you, Janet."

"W-What?" Janet asked, beginning to feel rather sick. Mirror Isabella continued with, "Yes, it really was admirable that you would take a life to save my brother. I didn't think you had it in you, but you sure didn't disappoint me. Thank you, Janet."

"B-But," Janet stuttered, shaking.

"No need to say, 'your welcome', you've done enough," Mirror Isabella replied casually. "And I hope to see that you get the praise you deserve."

Janet heard a dial tone, signaling that she had been hung up on. Janet set the phone down, and shuddered.

Mirror Isabella had frightened Janet before, so it struck her as odd that Mirror Isabella complimenting her, if she could call it that, gave her a sense of sickly disgust. Was Mirror Isabella congratulating her for killing someone?

Janet didn't want to be remembered like that. She didn't want people to think of her as the girl who stabbed a man to death. She wanted to be thought of as the girl who'd always help people in need. The girl who helped save Crystal City.

What had she done? She'd killed a man, that's it.

How was she going to explain this to Sam? She was his morale, and now she'd murdered somebody right in front of him.

Janet felt like the man she'd killed; lower than dirt.

* * *

When Janet passed through the Mirror Dimension forest, she was greeted by many Mirror People. They would courtesy in her presence, wave at her, or even compliment her.

One half of Janet was wondering how word had got around to how she'd murdered the robber who attacked Sam. The other half of her was wondering why they were complimenting her for it. Her parents had always told her that murder was a bad thing.

She eventually went to the ice rink. It had formerly been a tar pit, but it had been frozen over by Sam after the whole Mirror Isabella crisis had ended. Now, Mirror People and regular humans often skated on it.

Janet soon found Kizzy sitting near the rink. Kizzy had been adopted into a different family, and so Janet didn't see her often.

"Oh, hey Janet," Kizzy said before Janet could even say anything. Janet shrugged and sat down next to her.

"It seems that little incident has made her popular, hm?" Kizzy asked, reading a comic book. Janet groaned. Would somebody refrain from bringing that up?

"I didn't want to do it," Janet said, pulling her hair. "I just brought the knife in case, and when I saw he had a gun, I just-"

"You killed him?" Kizzy asked. Janet nodded sadly.

"The police will be investigating," Kizzy pointed out. "They'll be asking the family for questions. You'll be questioned most of all, since you were the one who dealt the fatal blow."

"I know," Janet said sorrowfully. "I wish I could've done something to make it different. Maybe if I had acted sooner, he wouldn't have gotten killed."

Surprisingly, Kizzy wrapped her arm around Janet's shoulder comfortingly. "Hey, this isn't something that you can fix," Kizzy said. "You did kill him, and you can't bring him back to life, but you are remorseful."

"What should I have done?" Janet asked.

Kizzy thought for a while. "Janet, have you read certain stories?" She asked. "Stories with these villains that bust out of jail, kill people, get locked up, then bust out of jail and kill more people?"

"I think so," Janet said.

"Sometimes, these people shouldn't be... left alive," She said bluntly.

"What?" Janet asked. "You mean, kill them?"

"Now, don't misunderstand me," Kizzy said. "I don't mean you should murder every single bad person. Not every bad person deserves death. A pickpocket doesn't deserve to die. Nor does some guy who takes off with your handbag. These aren't things to kill over."

Janet nodded.

"But, there are just times when you have to protect people," Kizzy said. "People like your family. Sometimes, you just have to put their needs over your own. If that robber had shot one of my family members, and was about to do so again, I would've done what you did. And my family would've done the same for me."

Janet managed a small smile. "Huh," She said.

"Now go home, and face whatever is going to happen," Kizzy said, with a smile, patting Janet on the back.

Janet nodded, and with that, set off home.

* * *

 _Reviews are appreciated._


	26. The Man She Killed (Pt 4)

_Al Drin Hoshizora: She's being nice because Janet killed someone. She thinks that Janet lowered her standards, which is why she congratulated her._

 _I am a burglar: Thanks for giving away all your information. Time to call the police._

 _WE ARE THE ROBBERY: Hey, Janet's a hero now. No way she's suffering now._

* * *

Sure enough, Janet was brought in for questioning, along with the rest of her family. They were asked to explain the events of their encounter with the robber in detail.

It was surprisingly easy to explain. David explained how he and Isabella first encountered the robber in the basement, stealing valuables. Isabella told them of how Sam came downstairs and witnessed this. Felix and Agatha, who had only arrived in the aftermath, didn't have much to say.

Then it was Janet's turn. For a moment, she hesitated. Then, she filled them in on the details. About how she had heard the gunshot, and gotten the knife just in case. She confessed to having acted out of instinct when she saw how the burglar had a gun, and had wounded Sam, and stabbed him in the side. She hadn't intended on murder.

Janet had thought that she would be placed in a juvenile detention for her actions. She was stunned, however, when the reply was, "From what you've said, we see nothing but self-defense. You were within your rights to use lethal force."

"W-What?" Janet asked, stunned.

"There will be no charges against you," The police chief said. "You are free to go."

Janet felt like she had been allowed to enter Heaven. Slowly, she and her family left the department, all of them feeling like they had taken a huge weight off of their shoulders.

Janet most of all.

"Hey, Janet," Isabella said. "I'd just like to say thank you, for saving my... our brother."

Janet just smiled.

* * *

At the hospital bed, the family stood around Sam, who's shoulder had been bandaged up, the bullet successfully removed. He still looked much more tired and weaker than usual.

"How are you doing?" Felix asked, concerned.

"Okay, considering I got a bullet to the shoulder," Sam explained, coughing. "I'll be fine. How was Janet?"

"I'm... fine," Janet said, forcing a smile. "It was nothing, really. I'm just glad that you're okay."

"T-Thanks for saving me," Sam thanked, smiling in spite of the pain he still felt after the operation. Janet leaned over and hugged Sam, careful not to touch his injured shoulder.

"I was talking with Kizzy the other day," She revealed. "She made me feel a lot better about things."

"Wow, I didn't know she had it in her," Sam mumbled to himself, remembering his time spent with Kizzy. She had rarely ever made him feel better about things. He patted Janet on the back.

"I'll be back home in no time," He reassured her. "You just look out for the others while I'm gone."

Janet smiled, and held hands with Sam for a few seconds. Then, they left.

* * *

When they were outside, Janet was surprised to see Alexis standing by the door of the hospital.

"Well, it seems everyone likes you now," She told her. "Looks like you're a hero now."

"I'm not a hero," Janet told Alexis firmly. "I killed someone, and nothing will change that. I'm me."

"Oh, well that's... fine," Alexis said. "But, now you're going to be on the web. I can just see the headlines: Eight-Year-Old Girl Stabs Robber-"

She was cut off when David punched her in the face, knocking her backwards. "Oh, stuff it, Alexis," He snapped at her. The family left, leaving Alexis holding her aching nose.

Janet skipped off in front of her family as they walked home. As she did, she looked up at the skies.

"If you're listening to this," Janet said up to the clouds. "I'm sorry for what I did. I just hope I can find forgiveness for your death."

With that, she joined her family as they walked home.

* * *

 _Reviews are appreciated._


	27. The Best Summer Ever (Pt 1)

_Al Drin Hoshizora: Well, how else was I supposed to response? That was a golden opportunity._

 _I am a burglar: That's what happens when you spill me your information._

 _The lawyer: Thank you, sir._

 _Detective Eye: This is CRYSTAL City, sir. Get your detective skills straight._

 _WE ARE THE ROBBERY: Ugh... look, a diamond!_

* * *

Sam, Janet, David, Isabella and Brenda had never been to summer camp before. The former four because of their rather sheltered lives previously, and the latter simply because she hadn't felt it suited her.

However, this summer would be different, the five of them thought. They'd all partake in participating in Camp Warner, the camp closest to Crystal City, and experience what it was like to go camping. With all the adventures the five had gotten into, a simple camping trip would be incredibly simple, they thought.

When the five boarded the bus heading for Camp Warner, Sam and Janet were abuzz with excitement. They would be spending eight weeks at the Camp Warner, for the first time ever.

Throughout the bus ride, Janet was thinking to herself of what they would be doing at Camp Warner: They'd be going canoeing, and swimming, and hiking, everything that she felt was perfect for her. She was one of the strongest children in her class, so these athletic achievements would be right up her alley.

"Can't you just see it, Sam?!" She practically shouted at him. "This is going to be wonderful!"

"Yeah, horray," Sam said, somewhat unenthusiastic. He was rather nervous about his first trip to summer camp.

Janet caught on to his hesitance and tried to console him.

"Oh, come on, don't worry," She reassured him. "Just you wait. This will be the best summer ever!"

* * *

Two hours later, Janet found herself inside a dusty, dirty cabin. There were a few cobwebs, though they didn't quite bother her. There were two wooden bunk beds in the room. There was barely any lighting in the room, and she could hardly scream.

Janet sighed, and was about to move in when she was unexpectedly shoved past by another girl. Janet stumbled to the side, and swirled around to see who had pushed her.

In the room with her, Janet saw an older girl, looking to be about Brenda's age. She had long, dirty brown hair and wore a blue cap. She was wearing the standard camp uniforms. When she turned to face Janet, she saw that the girl had dark brown eyes.

Janet looked down, embarrassed, and didn't say a word. The other girl shrugged and turned the other way, heading for her bed. As she did, another girl entered the room. She heavily resembled the first girl, but had thick blonde hair. Janet quickly guessed she was the first girl's sister.

The second girl notably walked with a bit of a hobble, and limped towards the bed. The first girl helped lay her into the bed.

At that point, Janet decided to speak. "Ugh, who are you two?" She asked innocently. 'My name is Janet Barret. You are..."

"Crystal," The brunette girl said without bothering to look Janet in the eye. "My sister's name is Amber. Now, what are you doing in my cabin?"

Janet was dumbstruck. "Your cabin?" She said, in disbelief, and feeling a twinge of anger. "What do you mean, your cabin? The camp counselor directed me here!"

"Yeah, well me and my sister stay in this cabin every year!" Crystal retorted haughtily. "And we've gone to Camp Warren for three years! So, technically, this is my cabin!"

Janet prided herself on her amiability, but she didn't appreciate a negative attitude, especially for no cause. Before she could say anything in response, Amber weakly raised her arms as if to signal for the two to stop fighting. Crystal tensed up a bit, but then turned her back to Janet and climbed up to the top of the bunk. Without a word, she lay down to sleep.

Janet grumbled to herself as she lay down in the separate bed. So much for the best summer ever, she thought. Would she honestly have to spend eight weeks with a girl like Crystal?

* * *

 _Reviews are appreciated._


	28. The Best Summer Ever (Pt 2)

_I am a burglar: Ah, seems you stole a fanfiction account now._

 _WE ARE THE ROBBERY: Yeah, just go and steal a fanfiction account now._

 _Al Drin Hoshizora: I haven't read that book. Granted, this story will be one of the darker ones, at least in my opinion._

 _Matt: I was thinking about writing that._

* * *

Later that night, the campers stood around a campfire. The Barrets sat with Brenda on the log, Janet crouched in between the four older kids. The five, along with the other campers, watched the fire blazing as they roasted marshmallows over it.

Janet whistled through the silence, staring abysmally at Crystal and Amber as they sat dismally on the other side of the fire. Next to her, David yawned and asked, "Where are the counselors?"

"They're... not here at the moment," Amber replied, shrugging her shoulders. Janet groaned; she thought summer camp was supposed to be fun.

"It's boring here; let's tell spooky stories," Brenda suggested, appearing to have caught on to Janet's boredom. "I'll start! Once, a girl found herself inside a giant mirror, and then... she got hit by lightning! AAAH!"

"Brenda, you're just telling everyone what happened to you when you first journeyed into the Mirror Dimension," Sam pointed out.

"Well it was scary when that happened," Brenda mumbled, shrinking down a bit. The other campers stared at Brenda silently, then David said, "Any others?"

"I have one," Isabella suggested. "Once, a little girl was walking through an empty, dark house. She couldn't see anything in it. Then, she heard a weird noise. It kept getting closer, and closer, and then..."

Suddenly, Isabella spun around to Janet, and screamed, "AAAAAAUUUUUGH!"

Janet didn't even flinch. She'd grown accustomed to Isabella trying that trick on her.

"I have a story," Crystal suggested. All eyes turned to her.

"Oh, boy..." Janet whispered to herself, wondering what lame story Crystal had in store for them. Nevertheless, she quieted down to let Crystal speak.

"Once upon a time, in a bright forest, there was a young girl," Crystal said, her voice barley above a whisper. "This girl had always visited the forest, but then she wanted to explore deeper. So she left into the forest, without telling her parents, and she got lost."

Janet couldn't help but feel as if a sudden rush of wind had brushed against her skin. It seemed the other campers had felt it, because they started shaking frigidly. Crystal didn't seem to notice, and continued.

"The deeper the girl went, the darker the forest got," Crystal continued on. "The trees started to become crooked, and the skies turned pale like a ghost's skin. The sun... she couldn't see it anymore... and all she could feel was the cold, uncomfortable wind... oh, she felt so frightened, and she wished she could go back home... but she was lost."

The kids encircling her begin to quiet down even more as Crystal told her story.

"She didn't know where to go... oh, she wished she hadn't gone into that forest... and as she went on, she thought that... someone was watching her. Not something, someone."

Things were so quiet, even the blazing fire seemed to go silent. Not even the sound of the crickets could be heard.

"Everything was silent, and all the girl could hear was the sound of her heart beating inside her aching chest," Crystal went on. "How she agonized to be back home now. And then, when that person she knew was watching her appeared, she wished more than ever that she'd be back home."

Crystal went silent. Her face fell, staring into the fire crackling before her. The other kids waited for her to say something, but she remained silent for several minutes.

Finally, Brenda asked, "Then what happened?"

Rather than answer, Crystal got up, saying, "I'm going to bed." With that, she trudged back to her cabin, leaving the other campers at the fire.

"What was that all about?" Isabella asked. Amber just shrugged, saying, "She gets like that sometimes."

Janet watched as Crystal left. As she did, she couldn't help but feel a rising suspicion grow in the pit of her stomach.

* * *

 _Reviews are appreciated.  
_


	29. The Best Summer Ever (Pt 3)

_Al Drin Hoshizora:... Wait, what?_

 _I am a burglar: I was making a joke. Sensitive much?_

* * *

The next morning was when the sports and games would begin. Janet had been the first child out of bed, as usual, and she was very eager to join in on the games.

The kids there, the main five in particular, soon met the head camp counselor. It was a woman named Semele, who looked rather young. She had long red hair and piercing golden eyes, and a sparkling smile.

When the kids saw Semele, Sam couldn't help but notice how much she resembled Isabella. He stood behind his sister, as he rarely ever spoke to adults. Crystal stood right next to Semele confidently.

Semele seemed to notice Sam's shyness. "Hey, cheer up, kid," She consoled him. "You're at Camp Warren now! I tell you, this will be the best summer you'll ever have!"

Sam smiled. At least the counselor was nice.

"Ready for some games?" Semele asked the eager kids. "Well, Crystal here will show you which games that suite you best! Go on, Crystal, show them where they want to go!"

Semele left, leaving Crystal to direct the other kids.

"Alright, you bums, I'm in charge while Semele is gone," Crystal said in a commanding tone. "You three, go to the camps; you four, go over to the lake to canoeing. The rest come with me to hike!"

As the remaining kids followed Crystal through the forest, David groaned.

"Ugh, is that girl bossy," He muttered under his breath. "She reminds me of Isabella before she was adopted."

"I heard that," Isabella snapped, and responded by zapping David's rear end. David yelped and jumped in response.

Janet shushed them. "Hey, it makes sense Crystal would be... bossy," She said with a shrug. "She's been here before, so she's probably met Semele before. Maybe that's why she trust Crystal so much."

"I guess," David mumbled, still unconvinced.

At the front of the small crowd of kids, Crystal was shouting, "Come on, move it! I could trek the whole mountain and back while you're all goofing off!"

"We're coming," The kids all groaned, and followed Crystal through the forest.

As they followed her, Sam couldn't help but wonder why Crystal was in such a hurry to move.

* * *

A half hour later, nearly all the kids had been tired out from all the walking. David and Brenda were already lagging behind, but Sam, Isabella, and Janet still had plenty of energy left to make the hike.

"Come on, guys, what are you standing around for?" Janet asked. "We're almost done the hike."

David's response was to make a long, agonizing groan in Janet's general direction. She backed off instinctively, and then noticed how Crystal was half-carrying Amber through the forest.

"Hey, what's the matter with your sister?" Janet asked, remembering how Amber had been limping the night before.

Crystal shot a glare at Janet. "What happens with my sister is none of your business!" She snapped at her. "Just, continue hiking. We're almost done anyways."

Janet flinched at Crystal's hostility, but she reasoned that she was simply acting out for concern over her sister. With a shrug, Janet skipped over past Crystal, past the side of the mountain. Now, all they had to do was get back down, and they were done hiking.

As they were walking, Sam glanced down at Janet's feet when he noticed a few rocks began to crumble from under her foot.

"Janet, look out!" He shouted, but it was too late. Janet's stepped on the fragile edge of the cliff, and it gave away. With a scream, Janet tumbled down the side of the cliff. Brenda and David rushed to the edge of the cliff to see Janet tumble down the rocky hill towards the forest below.

"Janet!" David shouted in horror. Even Crystal looked shocked. Sam and Isabella immediately dove down the cliff after Janet, flying towards her as she reached the forest below.

Janet managed to skid to a stop before she could collide with a tree. Sitting up, she felt herself. Her clothing was covered in leaves and twigs, and her hair had been dirtied. She felt a trickle of blood down her forehead, but she didn't feel much agony. Janet was rather resilient to pain.

Sam and Isabella hovered down to her. "Janet, are you alright?" Sam asked.

"I'm fine," Janet reassured, getting to her wobbly feet. "I'm just a little bruised." She rubbed her head. Sam noticed the blood on her forehead.

"We have to get you back to the camp," He said, and he immediately picked up Janet and began to carry her through the forest to where the camp was. Isabella followed them, while the rest of the kids continued on the trail.

"Sam, I can walk," Janet told him. When she got no response, she added, "I don't think we should be going through the forest. There are lots of animals in here."

"We can handle it," Isabella reassured her. "Don't worry, we'll be just-"

The three were interrupted by a rustling sound coming near a bush. Sam quieted down and crouched down, along with Isabella. The three listened to the sound of footsteps along the grass.

The three kids quietly followed the sound, and hid behind a bush. Peaking through, they saw a man, who looked to be in his forties, gathering wood and walking to his small cabin. He had a dark, bushy beard and was very heavyset and muscular.

"Wow..." Sam whispered. The man paused, as if hearing something, and turned in the direction of the three kids. Instantly, they hid behind the bush.

"Who is he?" Janet asked. "Do you think he saw us?"

Suddenly, Janet and Sam felt a hand grab their shoulder. They screamed, only to realize that it was Semele.

"What are you doing in the forest?" She asked the three. "Why aren't you with the rest of the campers?"

"Oh, nothing," Isabella said, fidgeting. "Janet just hurt herself..."

"Hurt herself?" Semele asked, concerned. She then realized Janet was bleeding.

"Oh, my..." She whispered, gazing at the blood on Janet's forehead. She stared at it, silently, for a few moments, then snapped back to reality and said, "We better get you fixed up. Why don't you come to my house and-"

A shadow loomed over the four, and the kids turned around to see the man at the front of the bush, staring at Semele. The kids hadn't seen him approach.

The two adults stared at each other for a bit. Then, the man nodded and turned to leave.

"Ugh," Semele whispered. "Anyways, let's go."

Pulling the three kids to their feet, she began to lead them to the cabin. As she did, she dipped her finger into Janet's bloodied forehead, and then put her finger into her mouth.

She sucked on her finger. The kids didn't notice, though.

* * *

 _Read and review._


	30. The Best Summer Ever (Pt 4)

_Sorry for the long wait. High school just started, and I had other stories to attend to. Hopefully, I'll be able to update more often._

 _I am a burglar: You do that and try not to get noticed._

 _Al Drin Hoshizora: Uh, the head camp counselor made her in charge. Duh._

 _Matt: Eh, not sure._

 _A-Plus Cassiopeia: Why'd you do that for? Also, this story isn't discontinued._

 _Juggernaut: Uh..._

* * *

Before long, Janet found herself back in her cabin, Semele using a towel to clean her injuries. Janet remained silent throughout the whole procedure, though Sam decided to start up a conversation with the woman.

"So, uh, did you know that man?" He asked, shrugging.

Semele turned to face him with an expression Sam didn't recognize on her. "You could say I know him a bit," She responded. "I'd suggest you stay away from that man." She resumed cleaning Janet's forehead.

Sam began whistling, then asked, "Counselor Semele, do you remember what you were like when you were a child?" He asked, shrugging, if only to restart the conversation.

Semele paused. "I don't remember when I was a child," She said bluntly. Sam felt quite shocked by the statement; Semele seemed so young, surely it couldn't have been so long ago when she was a child.

Semele stood up. "Anyways, Janet's done," She said. "You carry on with the sports."

Janet immediately sprang up and darted through the door, Sam following close behind. He was secretly surprised at how quickly she had recovered from her injuries.

Janet was now heading for the racing track, where Crystal was racing against a couple of girls. Janet began to jump in the air a bit, saying, "I'm gonna beat Crystal."

"Wait, what?" Sam asked, getting the wrong impression. "Are you sure you want to start a fight like that? I mean..."

"In a race," Janet corrected.

"Oh, okay," Sam said, relieved. The two had noticed that Crystal had won the race against her opponents, but Janet wasn't deterred in the slightest. She cartwheeled over to Crystal confidently.

"What are you doing here, Janet?" Crystal asked absentmindedly.

"I'm here to challenge you to a race!" Janet declared with a smug smile.

Crystal raised an eyebrow. "I'm not supposed to race with younger kids," She pointed out. "Go with someone your own speed, like your mirror sprite of a brother."

"I'm going to race you," Janet said stubbornly. "Unless you're scared."

At that point, Crystal glared at Janet, then grabbed her by the wrist and half-dragged the younger girl to the starting line with the other kids. Janet noticed that Amber was sitting out.

"Hey, won't your sister join?" She asked, confused.

"It doesn't concern you," Crystal said. "Let's just get this over with."

Janet began hopping in the air as a warm up. She couldn't wait to beat Crystal and hopefully take her ego down a peg.

Amber blew a whistle, and the girls immediately sprinted across the finish line. Two girls almost instantly tripped and fell, while a few others began to lag behind. Janet, despite being younger than the other girls, managed to keep ahead of most of them.

Crystal turned out to be a very fast runner, keeping a fine lead ahead of Janet and the other girls. Janet was fast enough to pass the other girls easily, but she realized she was having trouble keeping up with Crystal. She picked up the pace, and started to catch up to her.

This didn't go unnoticed by Crystal, who increased her speed herself. Janet, determined to win, started to catch up with her. Crystal shot a glare at Janet, but it didn't deter her. She wanted to beat Crystal more than anything.

The finish line was nearing, and Janet used all of her adrenaline to speed past Crystal, who likewise ran as fast as she could. The two girls dove over the finish line at the same time, Janet crashing onto the ground as she did so.

Janet lay on her knees, trying to catch her breath. Crystal was on her feet, staring down at her, shocked that she had manage to tie with her.

David and Isabella came up. "Uh, who won that?" The latter asked.

"It was me!" Both Janet and Crystal exclaimed.

"It was a tie," Sam declared, flying over to them. "I watched the whole thing."

"What?" Crystal asked. "I tied with HER?!"

Janet groaned. She wanted to beat Crystal, not end in a draw. Dejected she turned and stormed back to her cabin. Crystal turned the other way, shoving past David and Isabella.

"What a brat," Isabella said. "If only she'd met Mirror Isabella. She'd have straightened her out."

David shot a glare at Isabella. He didn't feel that anybody deserved to be tormented by Mirror Isabella, but he didn't say anything. Rather, he walked over to Sam.

"So, uh, did you find out about the man in the woods?" He asked.

Sam shrugged. "Semele knows him," He said. "She says we should stay far away from him." Sam then flew off to find the canoes. David felt a chill down his spine, and wondered who the man was, but pushed the thought away.

He was here to have fun, not be scared.

* * *

 _Read and review._


	31. The Best Summer Ever (Pt 5)

_I am a burglar: You do that. See if anyone cares._

 _Al Drin Hoshizora: We all do._

* * *

At night, there was a severe thunder storm. Rain poured down on the campgrounds while lightning illuminated the skies, forcing all the campers to remain inside their cabins.

Crystal and a few girls were among the last to head back to their cabins. As they did, Crystal kicked a soccer ball, out of sight from the other girls, into the forestry. She then walked up to a girl named Julie.

"Hey, Julie, could you go get that ball?" She asked sweetly. "It rolled into the bushes!"

Julie sighed, as she didn't want to spend another second in the rain, but she immediately relented and ran towards the forest in the direction the ball went, leaving Crystal to return to her cabin.

As she did, Crystal stared as Julie ran off, and she sighed bitterly to herself before reluctantly turning away and returning to her cabin.

In the forest, Julie trudged through the muddy grass and shoved through the bushes, trying to search for the missing ball. She secretly wondered if it was worth staying in the rain for, but Semele had ordered that all the equipment be taken inside.

She managed to locate the ball in the bushes, but as she grabbed it, she faintly saw a shadow appear over her head. She froze in shock, and slowly turned to see who it was.

Before she could do or say anything, the shadowy figure engulfed her, slapped a hand over her mouth, and whisked her away into the forest.

* * *

The next morning, Janet was awoken by Amber shaking her by the shoulder. The first thing she realized upon awakening was that Crystal wasn't in the room.

"Crystal wants everyone up and about," Amber said cheerfully. "Come on, let's go! We have more sports to play!"

Amber then began to run towards the door, but stumbled a bit before continuing. This didn't go unnoticed by Janet, who remembered how Crystal had to help Amber into bed some nights ago.

"Hey, Amber, do you have trouble walking?" Janet asked bluntly. Amber paused, then shrugged.

"I'm not as good a runner as my sister," She replied, then headed out the door. Janet followed suite.

Outside, Janet saw Crystal playing archery away from the cabins. She effortlessly shot two arrows into the target, and smiled at her accomplishments. Janet picked up a bow and arrow, and shot the arrow and a target. It struck the side of it, rather than the center as she would of hoped.

Janet huffed in annoyance, and was soon joined by Sam and David. Sam didn't notice the bow and arrows, however, and instead blasted a bolt of blue energy out of his fingertips, striking the center of the target and blowing it into a million pieces. He blew the smoke from his fingers, and grinned smugly.

David walked right past the two and headed towards Crystal.

"Hey, Crystal, where's Julie?" He asked.

"Who?" Crystal asked, pretending not to know who he was talking about.

"This girl with black hair," He pointed out. "You two and a few others were outside during the rainstorm, and I didn't see her this morning."

Crystal shrugged. "Maybe she's playing hide-and-seek," She suggested absentmindedly. "Maybe she's sleeping in."

"Actually, I didn't see her this morning either," Amber confessed. "Nobody's seen her since last night. Last I saw her, you sent her off into the forest to get something."

Crystal shot a glare at Amber, then turned to David, who was staring at her hard.

"What did you do?" He asked, his stare not leaving Crystal. After a moment of silence, Crystal aimed the bow and arrow at David.

"Back off, kid," She threatened. David stared at the arrow, which was aimed directly at his chest, then resumed glaring at Crystal.

"Will do, madam," He said sarcastically, then stomped off towards the forest. Isabella followed, asking, "Where are you going?"

"I'm going to find Julie," He said. "She's probably lost or something. She can't be far. I won't be gone long, trust me."

"Fine," Isabella said warily. "Steer clear from that creepy guy in the woods, though."

"Don't worry, I'm not going anywhere near him," David reassured, then ran off into the forest.

Janet and Sam watched them leave, and Sam turned to notice one of the camp counselors watch David leave, shaking his head disapprovingly. He sighed and stared at the ground, prompting Sam to go towards him.

"Hey, is anything wrong?" He asked.

The counselor shrugged. "This happens every summer," He confessed.

"What?" Sam asked, intrigued. Had other children gone missing before.

"Whenever children go to this camp, at least one of them vanishes," The man explained to Sam. "I've gone to this camp since I was a boy, and I've seen the way these children go into the woods, and never come back. We just tell the kids that those kids were sent home, but in truth, we don't know what's happened to them."

"Why hasn't anyone investigated?" Sam asked, interested.

"Well, it's not just during camp," The man confessed. "Kids have gone missing in these parts of the city. Nobody really takes too much notice. Kids go missing everywhere, don't they?"

Sam's eyes widened, and he turned to the woods where David had just left.

"I know it's not my business, but your brother might be in danger," The man whispered.

Sam didn't need to hear anything else. Without a second thought, he took off into the words after David.

* * *

 _Read and review._


	32. The Best Summer Ever (Pt 6)

_Al Drin Hoshizora: Well, there's a bit of a reason for why the counselors are secretive..._

 _King Booker: Sure thing._

 _I am a burglar: Isn't it obvious._

* * *

David wandered through the forest, wearing a mash of confidence to hide his inner fear. He wouldn't show it, but he was actually terrified of what could be in the forest.

Having mirror sprites for adopted siblings had proved that creatures of his wildest fantasy were real, and he couldn't help but wonder what other mystic creatures were hidden and had yet to reveal themselves.

A bush rustled, and David jumped as a squirrel skittered out and darted across the ground. For a moment, he was tempted to simply return to the camp and possibly get help from the other counselors, but decided against it. The longer it took to find Julie, the higher the chances were that she would get hurt, or worse.

David heard footsteps, and hid behind a bush. Peeking out, he saw the same man from the other day carrying wood to his cabin in the woods. He hadn't seen David, though.

"Yeah, should probably steer clear from that guy," David noted to himself. He'd been putting himself in enough danger by wandering into the forest alone, and Semele had warned the kids to stay away from him. He assumed that Semele lived in that part of the city, so she must know him somehow.

As soon as the man left, David slowly got up, and took a step backwards. However, he felt his foot land on nothing, and realized too late that he was standing right in front of a cliff side leading to a river. Before he could steady himself, David tumbled backwards and rolled down the hill. He struck his head on the ground, knocking himself unconscious, and rolled into the river with a splash.

Unconscious, David's body floated on the river as he was moved across the forest by the current.

* * *

An hour later, David woke up on the grass right next to the river. Slowly, he sat up, still feeling the numbing pain in his head after striking it on the ground. He rubbed it, feeling blood dripping from his hair, and slowly got up.

He was soaking wet after having been washed away in the river, and he had no idea which part of the forest he was in now. He knew, though, that he was far away from the camp.

With a sigh, David trudged along the grass, and stopped when he saw a rather large cabin in the middle of the woods, obscured by trees. David felt a glimmer of hope; surely if someone was there, they could help him.

David used his remaining strength to run towards the house, stopping at the entrance of it. The house was rather old; it looked like it had been around for over a hundred years. David briefly wondered if the house was abandoned; he then decided to check.

Peering through the window, David tried to check if there were any signs of anyone still living in the old house; however, it was too dark for him to see much of anything. Before David could properly decide on his next course of action, he heard footsteps coming from within the house.

Gasping, David ducked out of sight, not wanting whoever was there to think he was spying. However, he did feel relief that someone was indeed living there.

As David sat next to the house, he heard the door creak open, and footsteps trudge outside. Seconds later, the footsteps stopped.

David shut his eyes, wondering why whoever was in the house at stopped. Cautiously, he opened his eyes, and turned around. Then, he gasped.

The owner of the house was standing right in front of him, staring down at him with her golden eyes.

* * *

During the time that David had been floating in the river, Sam had been scouring the forest for any sign of him. He repeatedly shouted out, "David! David!", praying that he would get a response, and became increasingly dismayed when he received none.

It crossed Sam's mind that David may have returned to the camp, and was tempted to go back. However, he ducked when he heard a sound coming from the forest. He peeked out and saw the man that lived in the forest. He was trudging around his cabin.

Then, it entered Sam's mind that David and Julie hadn't returned to the camp. He began to think that maybe, that man had something to do with their disappearances. His eyes narrowed at the thought, but he wanted to make sure.

To distract the man, Sam summoned a ball of energy and blasted it towards a different section of the forest, causing a bright flash of energy that caught the man's eye. Intrigued, the man took off int he direction the ball of energy had gone in, giving Sam the opportunity to sneak towards his cabin.

Soon enough, Sam was at the door to the cabin. He wondered how the man could live in such a tiny space, but he knew he had to focus. Pushing the door open, Sam sneaked inside.

Sam examined the cabin. It was small indeed, and there wasn't much to look at; the man owned a few portraits and had a bearskin on the floor. However, he saw no signs of David or Julie or any other children in the cabin.

Sam paused to look at one of the portraits. The portrait had two children, about Sam's age, standing together, smiling brightly. He looked at another portrait, and saw the same two boys with a group of other children at the same camp grounds. The camp counselor in the portrait caught Sam's eye, but before he could recognize who it was, the door open, and the man came back into the cabin.

Sam gasped as he saw the dark shadow of the man loom over him.

* * *

 _Read and review._


	33. The Best Summer Ever (Pt 7)

_Al Drin Hoshizora: Of course he's lost. The man with the shadow is the same guy they've been seeing in the woods._

 _I am a burglar: You have got to be kidding me._

* * *

David looked up into the shiny golden eyes of none other than Semele. She was clearly shocked to see him, as her eyes were wide open and her jaw was hanging open. She stood, frozen, staring down at him.

"Uh, hello," David mumbled awkwardly, looking down and shrugging his shoulders.

"What are you doing here?" Semele asked after getting over her initial surprise. For a moment, David swore he saw a flash of anger in Semele's eyes. They switched to simple curiosity, though.

David's first thought was to lie and claim he'd simply wondered into the woods and gotten lost, though he knew that it wasn't much of a lie anyways. Then, he realized that the head counselor ought to know that one of the campers had gone missing.

"It's Julie," David confessed after a tense silence. "She went missing last night."

Semele's eyes widened somewhat, but David didn't see any concern in her eyes. He reasoned that perhaps she was just good at hiding her emotions.

"So you went to try and find her," Semele correctly assumed. When David nodded, Semele said, "Well, you must be rather tired, and you're soaking wet. Why don't you come inside with me, and I'll get you cleaned up and call the police to find the girl."

"Okay," David said, exhausted. Semele helped him to his feet, and led him into her house. As soon as David was inside, Semele made sure nobody else was outside, then shut the door behind her.

* * *

Sam held a crystal blade to the cabin man's neck, keeping him pinned against the wall. Sam noticed that the man had a double-barreled shotgun on the table, and made sure that the man couldn't reach it.

"Who are you?" The man asked, alarmed. "What are you doing in my cabin?"

"Where's David and Julie?" Sam asked, ignoring the man's question.

"Are you a fairy?" The man asked, noting Sam's blade.

"Where's my _brother_?!" Sam shouted at the man, pointing the blade closer to his chin. The man's response was to grab Sam by the arm and toss him back. Sam was somewhat surprised by the man's strength.

Before Sam could recover, the man already had the gun aimed at him. Sam expected him to shoot; he didn't. Instead, he lowered his weapon.

"I do not know what has become of your brother, or that girl," The man confessed. "But I do know that children have gone missing in these woods for years before I was born."

"How do you know?" Sam asked. Secretly, he was wondering who had been abducting those children for so long. That would make whoever had done that very old. Maybe it was a family who was committing the crimes.

The man looked at the portrait of the two boys with the rest of the campers. "You see them?" He asked. When Sam nodded, he said, "That was me and my brother. He vanished at the camp, and I've not seen him since."

Sam's eyes widened in surprise. The child looked so innocent, scarcely like the man in front of him now. But, as he stared at the photo, his eyes wandered on the head counselor in the photo with them.

He stared at the counselor in the photo, thinking that he recognized her from somewhere. Then, his eyes widened in shock.

"Oh my gosh!"

* * *

Janet and Amber passed through the counselor's hall. Janet looked through all the photos of the previous campers and their counselors. They were all rowed from earliest to most recent.

"So, uh, do you have trouble walking?" Janet asked Amber out of curiosity.

"No," Amber retorted. "I'm just not a good runner. Certainly not as good as my big sister, Crystal."

Janet shrugged, and looked at the photos. She looked at one taken past year, and saw a photo of Semele with Crystal standing by her side, Semele's arm over Crystal's shoulder. She looked at another photo, and saw a slightly younger Crystal, sitting down with Amber, in the photo. Janet noted that Crystal looked strikingly like her when she was younger.

Then, she noticed Semele in the photo as well. Janet realized that two years wasn't a long time, but she couldn't help but notice that Semele didn't look any different than how she looked now. The only difference was that she had her bright red hair in a ponytail.

"My sister was a much nicer kid back then," Amber noted as she saw Janet holding the photo. "But she was... different after we left that year. She was always a little bossy, but after that year, she just acted like she didn't want anything to do with anyone else."

Janet rolled her eyes, wondering why Crystal had turned into such a brat. She passed by the other photos, and stopped at one that had taken place in 1985. Her jaw dropped when she saw Semele in the photo. Not even as one of the campers, but still as the counselor. She looked slightly more youthful in the photo, but she was still very well an adult.

"Hey, Amber, is that Semele?" She asked. Amber nodded, then realization kicked in.

"Wait, Semele wouldn't have been born yet," Amber noted to herself.

Janet scratched her head in confusion, and started passing by the other photos. With each one, she saw Semele in the photo, as the camp counselor. She was noticeably younger in the older photos, and Janet finally saw Semele, as a preteen, as one of the campers. Then, Janet looked at the date to see what time that was.

 _June 19, 1905._

* * *

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	34. The Best Summer Ever (Pt 8)

_Al Drin Hoshizora: Pretty much what Janet saw._

 _Matt: I'm... considering it._

 _I am a burglar: Yeah, do whatever you want with it._

 _Guest: Uh-huh._

* * *

Sam stared at the photo and saw Semele as the camp counselor in the wall next to the children in the photo. His eyes and mouth were wide open in disbelief, not being able to fathom how old Semele was.

Spinning to stare at the man, Sam shouted, "Semele is OLDER than you?!"

For a moment, Sam thought that it was a mistake. That must be a different woman. There is no way Semele could be that old. However, as he stared at the photo, he knew that it couldn't be anyone else.

The man, meanwhile, was staring at Sam in bewilderment. Sam, after a pause, asked, "How old are you?"

"I'm forty," The man replied incredulously. "That photo was taken thirty-one years ago, in March."

Sam felt like he was getting a migraine. If that was true, then Semele would have to be in her late forties or early fifties by now. In the photo, she looked like a young adult, and she hadn't changed that much since. Had Semele been using some sort of skin graft to make herself seem younger?

"Do you know woman?" Sam asked, pointing at the photo.

The man nodded. "That's Semele II," The man explained. "Semele II, daughter of Semele. She had a daughter named Semele III. She was a nice woman, but she really needed to be more original with her naming, though."

Sam stared at the photo, then back at the man. "What?"

"That family really loved counseling," The man noted. "However, I've never seen Semele III's mother in decades."

Sam's eye twitched, astounded by the man's lack of concern about this. "The kids back there think that you're the one kidnapping the campers," Sam pointed out. "Aren't you worried?"

"They could never pin it on me," The man said. "These woods are very large and easy to get lost in. Only I and a few others know much of this place."

"Is Semele one of those people?" Sam asked. "Because maybe she knows where Julie is."

The man laughed. "If that were true, Semele would have found Julie by now," The man pointed out. Sam groaned, realizing that the man didn't understand what he was saying.

"Well, we have to at least look for Semele," Sam pointed out.

The man sighed. "Fine," He said. Picking up his gun, he led Sam outside of the cabin and into the woods.

* * *

"Ow!" David shouted as Semele tightly wrapped up his injured arm. They were in Semele's living room at this point.

"Shush," Semele replied. "If I don't bandage this up, it might get infected."

David bit his tongue to stifle his pain. He decided to distract himself by looking around Semele's house. Since Semele had turned the lights on, it did look more welcoming than before.

"Where do your parents live?" David asked. "Do you have any family?"

Semele paused, then shrugged. "My parents died a long time ago," Semele confessed. "I've been in and out of foster homes up until I was a teenager. Then I decided to be a camp counselor. I just love children."

"Uh, yeah," David whispered. He did secretly pity Semele, though. He couldn't imagine being separated form his parents.

Semele got up. "I should be calling the police now," She said. "Stay here, and don't move." She turned and left the room, leaving David alone in the living room.

David sat on the couch for a while, content. He hoped that once the police arrived, they would be able to find Julie and he'd put all of this to rest. He slowly closed his eyes, and prepared to fall asleep.

 _Sob._

David's eyes opened a pinch. It was faint, but he thought that he had heard crying coming from upstairs. Was someone else in the house? If that were the case, wouldn't Semele had told him?

Nevertheless, David wanted to find out who it was. Even though Semele had told him to stay put, curiosity got the better of David, and he quietly got off the couch and tip-toed up the stairs to find the source of the crying.

As the sobbing grew slightly louder, David noticed that it sounded female and childlike. Did Semele have a daughter he did not know of?

"Hello?" He asked quietly, and the sobbing instantly ceased. David stood there, concerned, and then continued towards the room where the crying was from. He rested his hand on the doorknob on the doorknob, twisted it, and opened the door.

He saw nobody at first, but then he heard low breathing and his eyes landed on a wardrobe. David heard footsteps downstairs enter the living room, indicating that Semele had returned, and he quickly darted to the wardrobe, grabbed it, and opened the doors.

He was met with darkness. However, in the darkness, he saw a thin figure, crouched in a fetal position, laying on the bottom of the wardrobe.

It was Julie.

"Julie!" David shouted out in shock when he saw her pale, thin form. She looked like she had been trapped in there for weeks without anything to eat or drink. Quickly, David grabbed her and carried her out of the wardrobe, cradling her in his arms.

Julie coughed loudly, and her head drooped. David knew he had to get her to safety quickly. His first thought was to get Semele, but then he realized something: if Julie had been trapped in Semele's house, than the person who had trapped her was most likely-

"David."

David's blood ran cold, and he turned to the door to see Semele standing there, blocking his path. In her golden eyes, David didn't recognize the kind, welcoming woman he had thought he'd known a few days ago.

In her eyes, David saw the eyes of a murderer.

* * *

 _Read and review._


	35. The Best Summer Ever (Pt 9)

_Al Drin Hoshizora: You'll find out in this chapter._

 _Guest: Oh, indeed._

 _I am a burglar: Try checking Semele's house._

* * *

David stared at Semele, frozen in place, unwilling to move. As he stared at Semele, he felt like he was a fly, and she was a spider that had lured him into her web. David knew immediately that he had to leave the house. Julie was sick as it was.

"If you're planning on leaving, I'm afraid to say it will be a futile effort," Semele warned him as she prepared to charge at him. David shifted his eyes, trying to see if he could run past Semele and dash through the open door. Semele blocked the entrance, however.

Thinking fast, David turned to the window and ran towards it. He knew it wasn't a perfect option of escape, but his chances of getting through the door and past Semele were slim as it was. However, before he had taken more than a few steps, Semele was right in front of the window, blocking him. David jumped in shock, and nearly dropped Julie.

"How did you-"

Semele grinned, her eyes glistening, and she charged at David with inhuman speed. Before David could do anything, Semele backhanded him in the temple. The blow was devastating. David dropped Julie and dropped, soundlessly, to the ground.

As he lay, drifting into unconscious, David wondered how Semele had managed to do that. Adult or not, Semele's strike shouldn't have been able to do that much damage.

Not if she had been a normal human.

* * *

David woke up, shrouded in darkness. He looked around, and soon realized that he was hanging upside down. He screamed, and tried to move around somehow, but it was as if his feet were locked to the ceiling somehow.

David sighed, realizing how hopeless it was, and studied the room. He was in a different room now, and he guessed it was the basement or the attic. As he looked around, he saw multiple bodies lying around the room.

The bodies of children.

David nearly puked when he saw them. The bodies were too realistic to be fake, and he noticed that some had decayed into skeletons. Several of them had clearly been there for many, many years.

The door opened, and Semele entered the room. She circled David, who did his best to avoid looking at her. He shut his eyes tight, and turned in the other direction as best as he could.

"Look at me," Semele told him, before shouting, more harshly, _"Look at me!"_

David felt a strong hand grab his head and twist him around, forcing him to stare into Semele's enraged eyes. He noticed that he looked paler now, and her teeth were bared. He saw that her teeth were fangs.

"You aren't human," David whispered. "What are you?"

"It doesn't matter what I am," Semele declared, her nails biting into David's flesh. "What matters is that I want to survive."

"Who are you?" David asked, ignoring the pain. "Why did you steal all of those children?"

"I need them," Semele said, releasing her hold on David. "They allow me to live longer. When I feed off of them, I can retain my youth."

"You're some sort of ghoul?" David guessed. "A vampire?"

Semele shrugged. "There are a lot of strange creatures in this world, child," Semele exclaimed. "You don't know the half of it."

"Yes I do," David argued, trying to look defiant despite being terrified.

"Oh yeah, you're the brother of a mirror sprite," Semele recalled, acting like it was a big surprise. "Then you should know that you shouldn't have gotten involved in all of this."

"People will come looking for me!" David told her. "They'll know about you!"

"So what, I'll pin it on the man in the cabin," Semele said with a grin. "I'd usually just send quips here and there to make everyone fear him, but nobody could pin the murders on him. But I guess I should make things more obvious."

"What do you mean?" David asked, worried.

"I'm going to take you and Julie's bodies to the man's cabin," Semele stated. "Then I'll tell everyone that he committed the murders, and he'll be locked away for good!" She smiled at the prospect.

"You're insane!" David insulted. Semele ignored the comment, and then sneaked a look at the clock.

"Oh no, I'm running late!" Semele shouted in a panic. "I need to get back to the camp now!"

She turned and took off towards the door without saying another word. She dashed through the door and locked it behind her, plunging David in pitch black darkness.

David sighed. He could feel the blood rushing to his head. He felt dizzy. He reached up towards the ceiling, and felt his foot. There was a sort of chain trapping him to the ceiling.

He knew he had to break it somehow, and free himself.

* * *

 _Read and review._


	36. The Best Summer Ever (Pt 10)

_Al Drin Hoshizora: Don't waste your appetite on this. More is on the way._

 _I am a burglar: Well, next time don't break into a vampire's house._

* * *

Semele entered the camp grounds, relieved that she had made it on time. She was a little miffed that the camp seemed slightly more empty than usual, but she brushed it off as no concern, reasoning that the campers were just in their cabins.

Walking to the counselor's cabin, she opened the door, and jumped a bit when she saw the campers were inside the cabin, Janet holding a portrait of one of the camp photos.

"Why my lovely boys and girls, what are you doing here?" Semele asked, putting on a smile to mask her concern.

Janet walked up to her, holding the portrait up to Semele's face. "Is that you?" She asked, pointing at the identical-looking camp counselor on the photo. "Why are you in that photo. It was taken decades ago, before you were born. Why are in a photo taken before you were born?!"

Semele opened her mouth to reply, but Janet cut her off. "Is Semele really your name?" She asked suspiciously. "Are you an imposter. Do you have anything to do with the missing children, including my brothers?!"

Semele's eyes widened in shock, and she looked around at the other campers, who were now staring at her, expecting an answer. Then, she straightened up and assumed a confident glimmer in her eyes.

"That's my mother," Semele said without a moment's hesitation.

"...What?" Janet asked, her eyebrow raising in curiosity.

"Don't I resemble her so much?" Semele asked, swiping the portrait out of Janet's hand. "The person in the other photos is my grandma. I got camp counseling from her, and she got it from grandma. Her mother loved counseling, and she loved counseling, and I aspired to be just like them." She placed the portrait back in Janet's hands.

There was an awkward silence. Janet shifted her eyes, then lowered the photo. "Oh," She said, somewhat embarrassed. She hung her head in remorse.

"Sorry about that," Janet said, hoping for forgiveness. The other campers stared at her, somewhat annoyed at Janet's rash accusations.

Semele ruffled Janet's hair. "It's alright, sweetie," She said, smiling. "Everyone makes mistakes sometimes. You should just learn to not be so impulsive."

"Yes, ma'am," Janet said, feeling Semele's warm hands release its grip of her hair. She looked up, and Semele smiled warmly before turning and leaving. Before doing so, she turned to another counselor and said, "You look after the kids for now. I need to rest up a bit." She then ran off into the forest.

Janet slowly turned to face the other campers, and was met with several disappointed glares.

"How dare you humiliate our counselor like that?" Isabella asked, her hands on her hips. "I expected more from you, Janet."

Janet looked down. "Sorry," She mumbled out, and felt the other campers leave the room. As she did, she noticed that she hadn't seen Crystal among the campers, and wondered where she was.

* * *

David had spent nearly an hour unconscious from the blood rushing to his head, but he snapped awake when he heard the door open. He briefly despaired that Semele had returned to torment him further, but upon seeing who it was, he gasped.

It was Crystal. She was holding a bow and arrow.

"Crystal?" He asked as the girl approached him. "What are you doing here? Get out, now, before Semele comes back!"

Crystal didn't speak a word; rather, she aimed the bow and arrow up at David's shackles and fired. The arrow pierced the chains, breaking through them in one hit. David fell from the ceiling, and Crystal caught him and set him down on the ground.

In spite of being free, David was still weakened. "T-Thank you," He groaned out, coughing as he felt the blood drain from his head. "However, we have to free Julie. We have to report Semele."

He then noticed that Crystal was chaining his wrists together. "What are you doing?" He asked. Semele didn't answer, but rather dragged him to a nearby chair and sat him down on it. As she did, David saw Semele appear through the door.

"Crystal?" Semele asked.

"Get out of here, Crystal, now!" David demanded. Crystal, instead, got up and turned to face Semele, who approached her. David looked away, unwilling to watch, but when he heard nothing happen, he opened his eyes.

Semele patted Crystal on the head. "Good work, Crystal," She said with a smile. "You did a great job luring Julie out into the open for me."

David's eyes widened. "What?" He asked, alternating stares at the two. Crystal had a regretful look on her face.

"It's not-"

"You're in cohoots with her?!" David shouted out in disgust. "You're working with a monster like Semele! You sent out those children so Semele could suck them of their life force, is that it?! How could you?"

Semele slapped David across the face hard, causing David to spit out blood.

"Don't talk to her that way!" Semele snapped. "This is a girl who is out to protect her sister. Couldn't you relate?"

David stared at Crystal. "What?" He asked. "What does your sister Amber have to do with this?"

Semele grinned. "Why don't you explain, Crystal?" She asked, shoving Crystal forward. "I need to go feed." With that, she left.

Crystal bit her lip, as if it pained her to have to talk to David, then she took a breath and spoke.

"It happened two years ago," Crystal explained with a sigh. "It was the first time I had taken my sister to camp. I was friends with Semele at the time. She seemed like the nicest woman ever."

"Two years ago," David whispered, noting that was about the same time that Sam and Isabella had fled the orphanage after Mirror Isabella injured Amanda.

"Yes, well one day, my sister wandered into the forest, and she didn't come back," Crystal continued. "So I followed her, and I found myself at Semele's house. She was asleep, and I saw Semele standing over her."

"She was going to kill her?" David asked.

"Semele told me what she was, and what she intended to do, and I pleaded for my sister to be spared," Crystal continued, a tear streaming down her cheek. "Semele made a deal; when I go to camp from the on, I'd send kids off into the forest for Semele. Then, she'd let my sister live. If I don't, she'll take my sister."

"Does Amber know about this?" David inquired.

Crystal shook her head. "She has no idea," She explained. "When she woke up, neither of us said a thing. It's better if she doesn't know, for her safety."

"So you get other children killed for the sake of your sister?" David asked, upset. "What about them?"

"It's not ideal, but I have to protect her," Crystal said. "You have a sister, don't you understand?'

"If I was in that situation, I'd find a way to stop Semele," David sneered at her. "Not help her at everyone else's expense. You're a horrible person, Crystal."

Crystal looked away, upset. David sighed.

"If you won't help stop Semele, I'll find someone who will," David said, getting up. He squeezed out of the chains; Crystal didn't bother stopping him. Once David was free, he used the chair to reach the window leading to outside. He smashed through the window with the skull of one of Semele's victims, then raced through the window and out into the open.

"Crystal?!" David heard Semele shout from upstairs. He ran as fast as he could into the forest towards the stream, and heard the door open, signaling that Semele was chasing him.

David ran as fast as he could to get to the stream, but stopped when he found himself at the edge of a cliff.

"Isn't it rough, escaping from someone smarter than you?" David heard Semele ask from behind him. He was astounded by her speed.

David spun around, and the moment he did so, Semele jabbed her fingers into the chest. David coughed out blood, and felt something bubble in his chest. He began vomiting on the ground.

"This is a special trick only my kind knows," Semele said with a grin. "Once you're stricken with this, you'll die a long, agonizing, painful death. It's a type of misery that people like you deserve."

David, using the last of his strength, shoved himself off the cliff to escape from Semele. He was sure he would die, but he knew staying with her was a death sentence in of itself. Maybe, if he got away from her, he could spend his last few minutes alive to warn others. With that in mind, he splashed into the river below, and was carried off by the stream.

Semele smirked as she watched him get carried away. "What a fool," She sneered, then turned and left.

* * *

 _Read and review._


	37. The Best Summer Ever (Pt 11)

_Al Drin Hoshizora: The things people do for family._

 _I am a burglar: Didn't you know already._

* * *

Sam and the man followed the river as they unknowingly neared Semele's house. Sam was beginning to get worried; the two hadn't seen any signs of David or Julie, and it crossed Sam's mind that maybe they had been attacked and killed by a wild animal.

"This river will take us to Semele's cabin," The man revealed. "She should probably know what's going on."

"Semele lives in the forest?" Sam asked. He briefly wondered how Semele wouldn't know about what was going on if she lived in the same area that the kidnappings were taking place in.

"Hey uh, mister?" Sam asked. When the man signaled for him to response, he asked, "What's your name. I never got to know."

"Bill," The man replied bluntly. "Bill Hemmers. Few people really know my name."

"Don't you have a family or something?" Sam asked, throwing a stone into the river to pass time. As he did, he noticed a figure floating down the stream. It looked familiar to him.

"Well, I had one dad," Bill said, unaware of what Sam had seen. "My mother died giving birth to me and my brother, leaving-"

"David?!" Sam shouted, horrified, when he recognized who the person in the river was. Immediately, Sam soared into the river and scooped David out of the stream, flying back onto shore with his brother in his arms.

"It really is him!" Bill said, dropping his gun on the ground as Sam knelt over David, worried when he saw his physical state. David's face was green, and his veins were showing, and blood and drool was dribbling out of his mouth and down his cheeks.

"He's ill!" Bill said, horrified. "And frightfully so. He'll die!"

"We have to seek help!" Sam suggested, biting his nails in anxiety. Bill shook his head, hopeless.

"The nearest hospital is miles away," He confessed as David's condition worsened. "We'll never make it in time!"

Sam looked anxious, thinking of something he could do to help. David was throwing up blood, and his green skin was beginning to pale. Then, after a moment's hesitation, Sam gave out a shout and suddenly jabbed his hands into David's chest where the wound was, ejecting a volt of blue energy, causing David to briefly spasm. As he did, Sam's eyes began to glow blue, and his breathing turned to a frosty blue. David began to flinch and twitch, and he became still. Bill watched on in amazement.

David's eyes shut for several moments, and when they reopened, they were the same glowing blue. The green faded from his skin, and his wounds began to heal. Sam closed his eyes and took a deep breath, and released another volt of energy. David immediately started coughing roughly, and sat up. Sam inched away from him, clenching his fists.

David put a hand on his chest where his wound had been moments ago. His breathing returned to normal. Immediately, Sam tackled David into a big hug, relieved that he was alive and well. Bill watched the two, and gave a relieved smile himself.

David returned the hug, himself glad to be out of Semele's clutches, but then he remembered the situation and broke out of the hug, saying, "We have to get to Semele's house now! Everyone's in grave danger!"

"We were just headed there," Sam noted. "Do you think she can help?"

"Semele's behind all of this!" David revealed.

"What?!" Sam and Bill both shouted in unison. David covered their mouths, grabbed the two and dragged them behind a bush so nobody saw them.

"Semele's a vampire," David quickly explained. "She's responsible for all these kidnappings that have been happening over the years. She sucks them dry and kills them. She kidnapped Julie, but she's still alive."

Sam's jaw dropped as he looked in the direction Semele's house was. Turning back to David, he asked, "Did she do this to you?"

David nodded. "She's very dangerous," He whispered. "We have to warn all of the campers. We have to call the police."

"We have to tell Crystal," Sam blurted out. "She's the closest to Semele!"

David paused, and sighed before confessing, "We can't. She knows."

"What?" Sam whispered as Bill's eyes widened. "But how?"

"She's with Semele," David said, repulsed. "Semele threatened her sister, and she forced Crystal to send kids into the forest for her. Amber doesn't know, though."

"Oh," Sam whispered, upset. "We still have to stop Semele and save Crystal from her."

David snapped at him. "Are you kidding?" He asked, angered. "After all she's done!"

"She was just trying to protect her sister," Sam pointed out, but David got to his feet.

"Yeah, by getting other kids killed!" He said, irritated. "I'm going back to the camp to warn everyone! I suggest you two go and save Julie. I'll be back!"

He then ran off into the forest, leaving Sam and Bill at the stream. They looked to the direction Semele's house was, and Sam donned a determined expression.

"Let's do this thing," He said confidently.

* * *

Janet scored a goal into the soccer net while playing soccer. She cheered happily as she was lifted into the air by her teammates, who congratulated her. In spite of her cheerful facade, Janet still couldn't get it out of her head that her family was in danger.

 _Where is Sam and David?_ Was all that was running through her mind. Getting off of the other kids, Janet ran to Isabella and Brenda, who had been watching.

"Have any of you seen Sam or David?" Janet asked, worried. "I haven't seen either of them in hours."

Brenda shrugged, and Isabella herself contemplated the situation.

"Janet!"

The girls jumped when they heard a shout come from the distance. The voice sounded familiar.

"Isabella!"

The girls turned around as the voice got louder. Then, they saw David barreling out of the forest and into the camp. Whereas the other children were startled, Isabella and Janet were relieved.

"David," Janet said, smiling.

David instantly hugged his sisters, then pulled away and said, "We're all in grave danger!"

"What?" Isabella asked. "From what?"

"I know who's kidnapping the children around here," David said. "Sam's going to stop her. We have to call the authorities now!" He rushed to the nearbye phone, but Isabella grabbed her arm.

"Who is it?" She asked, staring into his eyes.

David sighed.

"It's the head counselor, Semele."

* * *

 _Read and review._


	38. The Best Summer Ever (Pt 12)

_Al Drin Hoshizora: Yes, he's fine. Sam's just revealed another of his powers._

 _I am a burglar: Knock yourself out._

* * *

"It's the head counselor, Semele."

The moment the words left David's mouth, there was a cold silence that sliced through the air as everyone stopped talking. The other children, who had heard the conversation, had been about to retreat from the camp upon learning that there was a killer on the loose in the area. However, the moment David revealed who it was, they stopped, as if frozen in place by an unseen force.

All eyes focused on David, from the children and the other camp counselors. David saw Janet's face pale, her blue eyes turning icy. Her mouth was hanging open and she was breathing heavily. Her eyes darted into several directions, as if she were being watched.

Amber walked up to David and broke the silence. "Semele's responsible for all of this?" She asked, and David heard a hint of a betrayal in her tone. He realized he shouldn't be surprised; Amber had been visiting the camp for years, and she must have trusted Semele. It was a bitter pill to swallow.

David realized he had to pick up the pace quickly. "We can't keep standing around doing nothing!" He told everyone. "Stop standing around and move!"

The kids around him seemed to hesitate, not knowing what to do. This had been so sudden for them that they were unsure whether to believe David or not.

Frustrated, David roughly shoved Janet and Isabella forward, doing the same to several other children. "I said run!" He shouted out. "Do something! Run! Hide! Call for help! But we're all in grave danger, and we have to find a way to escape!"

"Uh, okay!" Brenda said quickly, and she bolted. Following her example, the other children began to scatter. Some of then dashed back into their cabins to hide, while others vanished into the woods. A few dove into the lake and started swimming out of camp grounds. The counselors, meanwhile, started to give the children directions as to where to go.

"Run to the nearest city!" One woman instructed to the children. "We have to find the nearest people to help! Move it, all of you!"

Several counselors ushered other children into the canoes, paddling off when there were enough inside. Some children swimming were grabbed out of the water and pulled into the canoes.

"Madam, help me!" One girl pleaded as she swam in the water, outstretching her arm. A few children extended their paddle to her, and she grabbed hold and was dragged into the canoe.

One of the camp counselors dove to the nearest phone and dialed 9-1-1.

"Police, we have an emergency situation!" He said over the phone. "I have to report a murderer on the loose, and a missing girl. We're at Camp Warner. Get here, now!"

Isabella grabbed David and said, "Where's Sam?"

"He's off to find Semele," He explained, pointing in the direction of Semele's house. "That's the direction her house is!"

Isabella put on a determined face, and she said, "Stay here, David! I'll deal with this!" With that, she flew into the air and soared towards Semele's house. Janet and Brenda ran after her.

Amber ran up to David. "Where's my sister?" She asked, concerned. "Did Semele kidnap her, as well?"

David was about to respond, then hesitated. Amber was distraught as it was at the head counselor's betrayal; how would she react when she found out that her sister had not only known, but had willingly acted as an accomplice? He hated to tell the younger girl, but he knew she had to know the truth.

"Amber," He said slowly. "There's something you need to know about Crystal."

* * *

Sam and Bill stopped in the forest as Semele's house came to view. The two paused, then started to continue forward. They knew what they had to do; they had to defeat Semele. But first, they had to free Julie.

As they neared the house, the door swung up and Semele wandered outside. The two immediately dove behind a tree to avoid being seen. Luckily, Semele hadn't noticed them. As the two watched, Crystal walked out the door. Semele pointed her in a certain direction, and she wandered into the forest. Semele then wandered around the other side of the house. After a moment's hesitation, Sam and Bill continued towards the house.

Semele had left the door open. To avoid being heard, Sam hoisted Bill into the air and flew silently through the door.

Once they were inside, Sam said, "We have to split up. You search downstairs, and I'll look upstairs."

Bill nodded, his gun at the ready, and he split off from Sam. Wandering down the dark hallway, Bill stopped at the door leading to the basement and creaked it open. He noticed a few cobwebs in the basement, but he didn't let it bother him. He slowly tip-toed downstairs, flicking a light on.

When he reached downstairs, he was horrified at what he saw. In the basement there were metal chains, and dozens of bones and rotting bodies. Bill examined the bodies, and saw that they were that of children.

Bill stopped when he saw a small skeleton. It lay on the ground, in perfect condition. Kneeling down towards it, he examined it, feeling as if he knew it somehow.

When he recognized the shape of the skeleton, he gasped, and the gun dropped out of his fingers.

"Thomas..." He whispered, his voice cracking, as he picked up the skull of his dead brother. "Oh my gosh... what did she do to you?"

Holding the skull in his arms, Bill wept silently to himself.

* * *

Sam, at the same time, had entered a room upstairs. He had already checked the other rooms thoroughly, and hadn't found any sign of Julie. Finally, he opened the door, and let out a gasp.

There she was, lying on the floor, her skin pale. Julie was lying face-down on the floor, crumpled and sickly-looking. Sam instantly darted towards her and turned her over, and saw two bite marks in her arms.

Sam, horrified, slowly cradled Julie in his arms. She was half-conscious, and her eyes were barely open and rolling her in eye sockets.

"It's okay, I've got you," Sam reassured her as he hoisted her into the air. "I'm going to get you out of here."

Racing down the stairs with Julie in his arms, Sam ran into the living room, and heard the basement door open. Turning around, he saw Bill, the gun slung over his shoulder. He was holding the skull in his hands tenderly.

Sam was about to ask about the skull, but he accidentally stepped on a creak in the old wood of the floorboards. Outside, the three heard a gasp, and there was a rush of wind. Then, before anyone noticed, Semele was at the door.

"What are you doing here?" She asked, miffed. Her curiosity turned to horror when she saw that they had found Julie.

"You're days of draining the life out of children are over, Semele!" Sam declared, pointing an accusing finger at her. "I found David and healed him, and he told me everything. We're going to put a stop to you once and for all!" He then shot a bolt of lightning at her out of his fingertips.

Sam underestimated Semele's speed, however. Easily dodging out of the way of the lightning bolt, Semele then charged at Sam, knocking Julie out of his hands. The girl landed on the floor hard.

Semele pushed against Sam's chest with her open palm, sending him flying into a wall. He collapsed onto the ground, stunned. He hadn't expected Semele to be so strong.

"Mirror person or not, you're still just a child!" Semele reminded, cracking her knuckles. "You don't have half the strength to defeat a vampire!"

Sam got to his knees. "It doesn't matter, anyways!" Sam said. "David's warned the rest of the camp. They know about you, and they're going to find help!"

Semele growled in anger, and extended her claws, preparing to slash Sam's face. However, she then heard a gun cock coming from behind her, and instantly remembered Bill. She spun around, and was promptly shot in the stomach, causing her to stumble backwards, then straighten up. She took a step forward, and Bill shot her again, then again. The third shot knocked Semele backwards through the window, and she crashed outside.

"We have to get out of here!" Bill said, slinging Julie over his shoulder. As they started to run outside, Semele started to get up.

"You can't escape from me!" She threatened, now on all fours, in the position of a cat about to pounce on its prey. "I will get you! I'l kill everyone in the camp!"

* * *

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	39. The Best Summer Ever (Pt 13)

_Al Drin Hoshizora: Find out soon, in reality._

 _I am a burglar: Yeah, you do that._

* * *

Amber wandered through the forest towards Semele's house, somewhat shaken after David had confessed everything to her. She was confused, hurt, and betrayed.

David had come clean about everything he knew about Semele and Crystal. He had withheld no information. She could tell he hadn't wanted to inform her that two people she had trusted had been involved in such despicable actions, but it would have been worse if she hadn't known.

She didn't know what to feel about Semele, but she felt a hurricane of emotions about her sister. She was angry, addled, but mainly sad. She knew that Crystal had been trying to protect her, but how could she have gone about it like this?

She was heading off to Semele's house to look for Crystal. David had warned her against it, but as much as she was upset at her older sister, she could feel as if she were in danger.

Even from the distance she was from the house, she could hear the sound of a violet altercation ensuing from there. She realized that Sam was probably there, and was battling Semele. She was unsure who would win; both were very powerful beings.

She wad distracted from her thoughts when she saw that Crystal was sitting on a rock overlooking a stream. Her back was turned, and she was unaware that Amber was watching her. Amber noticed that Crystal's head was hanging low.

Amber started towards her, saying, "Crystal?"

Immediately, Crystal snapped up to attention. Her head spun around, her eyes widened in shock, and she stared at Amber in disbelief. After the initial surprise subsided, she jumped off of the rock and said, "What are you doing here? Get out, now!"

Amber shook her head. "It's okay, Crystal," She reassured her. "David told everyone the truth. Help is coming."

Crystal didn't seem convinced. "That doesn't help anything!" She shouted at her sister. "You don't know how dangerous Semele is. She's a monster, and a few policemen aren't going to be able to take her down."

"Well, she's a vampire," Amber mentioned. "We just got to get a stake into her heart!"

"It's not that easy," Crystal warned her. "Besides, you suck at archery!"

Crystal noticed that Amber looked somewhat offended, but her expression switched to optimism once more. "You're good at archery. You can just-"

"I told you to get out of here!" Crystal suddenly cut her off, and this time, she shoved Amber backwards hard enough to knock her on the ground. Amber's eyes widened with shock as she stared up at Crystal.

When she realized what she had done, Crystal said, "Sorry about that. But I'm not kidding around. Get somewhere safe before it's too late."

"No," Amber said firmly. "I'm not going to abandon so many people to die, unlike you!"

Crystal seemed to fumble with trying to find a response to that. After a moment's hesitation, she spat out, "I did it for you!"

"If it was for me, you would have found another way out of this!" Amber retorted bitterly. "Not send other children to their deaths!"

"What was I supposed to do?" Crystal asked. "Let Semele kill you? I was eight years old at the time, what could I do? I didn't like not saying anything about it, so I distanced myself from everyone else! I didn't want to feel as if I'd... betrayed them."

"You did," Amber said, getting up. Crystal didn't say anything, just staring at her sister before turning to look in the other direction. Amber sighed, and then said, "Well, if you won't help, I will."

With that, she set off towards Semele's house.

* * *

Sam faced Semele, breathing heavily as he anticipated her next attack. Semele had proven a very resilient opponent. She was faster and more agile than him, and she seemed to surpass him in strength as well. He'd gotten in a few good hits, but he knew he was getting worn out by the fighting.

"I can feel you're starting to tire, fairy boy," Semele whispered, a grin on her face. Sam could tell she was a little worn out as well, but she could still fight. He, on the other hand, was unsure how long he could last.

Sam generated a bolt of lightning, and shot it at Semele, she dodged out of the way, and the lightning struck the house. Semele took the opportunity to race past him, her claws slicing his arm. Sam cried out in pain, and stumbled to keep his footing.

Sam turned around just as Semele careened back towards him. She struck out at him. The two traded blows, parrying some and blocking the others. Sam got one punch into Semele's nose, and knocked her onto her back.

Transforming his arm into a blade, Sam dove towards Semele, his blade aimed at her throat. Semele's pupils dilated, and in an instant, she had rolled out of the way and got to her feet. She kicked Sam's legs from out under him, and he collapsed on the ground.

Semele breathed heavily, relieved at the close call, before she was suddenly shot in the arm by Bill. Julie was lying on the ground next to him. Recovering quickly, Semele raced towards him, knocking the gun out of his hands. Grabbing him by the neck, she hoisted him into the air with one arm.

"I remember you, Bill," She whispered to him. There was a bitter anger in her eyes. "I remember your brother..."

She tightened the grip on Bill's throat, and it was clear he was struggling to breath. His face was starting to turn red, and his eyes were squeezed shut. He tried to pry her arms from his neck, but she was too strong.

"Would you like to know what I did to him?" She asked, her lips in a fanged grin. "I hated both of you. I tortured him for weeks, sucking his blood every day until he died. You must haveve heard how he screamed, and begged for me to end his suffering. So I did."

Her nails were squeezing into Bill's neck, and Semele extended her claws and prepared to tear his throat out.

"Now, I'll end yours," She whispered. Suddenly, she was clawed in the back by Semele. Screaming agony, she released Bill, who dropped onto the ground. She whirled around at Sam, who's fingers were transformed into claws to combat Semele's.

Semele glared at him, and Sam immediately flew into the air, swinging his claws at Semele. She dodged quickly to avoid him, but she was struck several times. At the same time, Isabella soared into the fray, knocking Semele to the ground.

"You're going down, you hag!" Isabella shouted furiously. At the same time, Brenda and Janet arrived.

"We'll take Julie," Brenda reassured Bill. "You help the Crystal kids." With that, she and Janet grabbed Julie, and started to carry her away. Bill turned to Semele, then grabbed his gun and cocked it before re-entering the battle.

* * *

 _Read and review._


	40. The Best Summer Ever (Pt 14)

_Al Drin Hoshizora: Indeed I will._

 _I am a burglar: You won't find much, though, since they took everything with them._

* * *

Semele punched Isabella in the face and kicked Bill in the stomach, knocking both of them onto the ground. Her hair was frazzled and unkempt, and her face was twisted in frustrated anger. She wouldn't admit it, but she was getting worn out. However, with her foes temporarily incapacitated, she decided to end the fight quickly.

Extending her claws, Semele prepared to tear out Isabella's heart. Before she could do so, however, Sam slashed her in the back, causing her to cry out in agony. Hurtling around, eyes ablaze in fury, she swatted Sam away with her wrist, sending him flying several feet away.

Sam skidded across the ground, tumbling backwards towards a lake. He came to a stop near the water, and got to his knees, coughing loudly. He was surprised that Semele still had that much strength in her.

Before he could get up, Semele was standing before him, her golden eyes gleaming with rage. Her face was pale, and her knuckles were red. She was breathing heavily, sweat pouring down her face. Raising her foot, she stomped down on Sam's chest, pinning him to the ground.

"I've had enough of this," She spat out, driving Sam's head into the lake and holding him there. Sam's cries were muffled by the water entering his lungs, and he desperately clawed at Semele's arms to force her to release him. Semele growled in pain as Sam tore at her flesh, but she wouldn't relent.

Semele opened her mouth, and her fangs shot out. She prepared herself to slice into Sam's flesh, when she heard a slight movement coming from behind her. A wisp of wind, a breath of air, a heartbeat. Craning her head around, she gasped in surprise at what she saw.

Crystal stood behind Semele, a bow and arrow in her hands. She aimed the arrow at Semele, and prepared to fire.

"Crystal?!" Semele gasped in surprise. Forgetting about Sam, she released the grip on his throat, and he burst out of the water, gasping for air. Crystal, meanwhile, released the arrow, and it soared through the air at Semele's chest.

The arrow suddenly stopped, inches away from Semele's breast. Crystal gasped in shock. Sam stared up in shock.

Semele held the tip of the arrow in her fingertips, prying it away from her chest. She briefly breathed a sigh of relief, amazed at how close she had been to death, then snapped the arrow with her middle finger.

Semele then turned her attention to Crystal. The young girl dropped the bow in shock. Semele smirked, but her eyes held an expression of pure hatred. Quickly, she soared towards Crystal, her arm extended forward. Her strong hands grabbed Crystal by the neck, and she hoisted the small girl into the air. Crystal struggled to escape, but it was no use.

"You know what I really hate," Semele purred as she stared up at Crystal. "I hate backstabbers."

Crystal tried to punch Semele in the face, but the vampire grabbed her fist. Quickly, she sunk her fangs into Crystal's arm. The girl screamed in agony as Semele began to suck her blood. Sam could only watch from afar in horror.

Semele released Crystal, who dropped onto the ground, dazed. Turning towards Sam, Semele sneered, "I hope you're proud of yourself, Crystal. For when I'm finished with that boy, I'm coming for your sister, and I'll bring her corpse back and show you it, and tell you it's all your fault!"

Suddenly, Semele was struck from behind with a large volt of lightning, sending her flying into the forest. Sam turned to see Isabella standing there, her fingertips sparkling with electricity.

"Get the girl out of here," Isabella ordered Sam. "I'll take care of Semele."

Sam didn't want his sister to fight against the obviously more powerful foe, but he knew he had to protect Crystal at the moment. She was severely weakened from what Semele had done to her. Running over to Crystal, he slung her over his shoulder and flew off towards the camp.

Isabella turned to the direction Semele had gone, but was surprised to see that Semele had vanished. Turning back to Bill, she saw Amber scurry out of the forest and run towards the man.

"Get up, mister," She said as she hurried Bill to his feet. He groaned in pain, and stumbled a bit, and Isabella grabbed him. The two girls started to help him towards the forest and towards camp grounds.

"I hope my sister is okay," Amber said.

* * *

"...And I need you to come to camp grounds and pick us up, now," David said over the phone at the camp. "I love you too." With that, he hung up.

One of the only remaining camp counselors wandered towards him. "Who was that?" He asked.

"My mom," David replied. "I told her it was an emergency. She's coming over to pick us all up so we can get out, now. I'm hoping our siblings return soon. Are most of the campers evacuated?"

"I think so," The counselor said. "Now, we just need to get out of-"

Suddenly, a rush of air flew past David and the man, and the counselor was sent flying towards a cabin. He crashed against the wall and slumped down, unconscious.

David jumped as Semele appeared before him. She glared down at him, and said, "I should have made sure you were dead the first time. Now, I'll correct that mistake."

"Freeze!"

David looked behind Semele, and was relieved to see four police officers standing behind her, their guns drawn and aimed at Semele. Slowly, Semele turned around, her arms in the air.

"Get on your knees, now!" One police officer said. Semele seemingly obeyed, leaning down on her knee. Then, before any of the police could react, she suddenly sprinted towards them. She jabbed her fingers into two of the officers' chests. Instantly, they crashed onto the ground, writhing in agony. David shouted in horror, realizing that Semele had used the same curse on them that she had on him.

"What the hell?!" The third police shouted in surprise. Semele swatted the gun out of his hand, grabbed the man by the neck, and violently threw him away. The man went soaring towards a giant rock. His head bashed against the rock, cracking his skull open.

Slashing the fourth officer down with her claws, Semele turned back to David, and smirked arrogantly. She then stomped towards him and grabbed him by the neck and hoisted him in the air.

"It's all over, David Barret," She sneered. Suddenly, Semele was blinded by a bright flash of light. Suddenly, a dark blue car came careening off the road and right towards the camp.

"What the-" She shouted, but was cut off when the car slammed right into her, sending her soaring through a cabin. David slumped onto the floor, and turned to the car.

Quickly, Agatha and Felix stepped out of the car.

"Mom, dad!" David shouted, hugging both of them.

"Uh, that wasn't an innocent bystander, was it?" Felix asked nervously as he pointed in the direction Semele had gone flying in. David shook his head.

Slowly, Semele crawled out of the wrecked cabin, dazed and covered in bruises. Felix looked closely at her, and gasped in shock.

"Hey, I recognize her," He said, a smile on his face. "She's head counselor Semele. I went to this camp when I was a kid."

There was a silence as realization set in, and Felix said to himself, in confusion, "Wait a second..."

"Let's not," David said, exasperated. "Let's just go!"

"Yeah, we probably should," Agatha said, and with that, the three hurried into the car, and began to drive in reverse.

"Let's find my brother and sisters, and get out of here!" David said. "I hope they're okay!"

* * *

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	41. The Best Summer Ever (Pt 15)

_I am a burglar: Yeah, you do that._

 _Al Drin Hoshizora: Yeah, David loves his mom. Didn't you know?_

* * *

Sam flew Crystal towards the road to get to the nearest station. He had intended to bring her back to the camp, but he had decided that even there, she was not safe. The only way anyone stood a chance was if they left the camp grounds, period.

As Sam flew above the trees, he looked down and saw the campers and counselors in their canoes, paddling down the river. He noticed that Janet, Brenda, and Julie were in one of the canoes, following the others out of camp grounds.

Floating down, Sam lowered Crystal into the canoe. "Semele injured her," He explained to the others. "I have to kill her, somehow."

"But how?" Janet asked, utterly stumped. "She's way stronger than you are."

"Well I have to stop her from killing anybody else," Sam said, standing up on the canoe. "If I have to summon all of my power, I'll kill her. At the very least, I'll die trying."

"You have to destroy her heart," Crystal whispered out. She spoke so low that Sam hardly heard her. Turning around, he motioned for her to repeat.

"Everything is vulnerable if it has a heart," Crystal explained. "Nobody who it is, if you can destroy its heart, you will be able to destroy that person. I tried to do that, but I failed. Now you have to find a way to do so."

Sam stared at Crystal in deep thought. It wouldn't be easy, finding a way to puncture Semele's heart. She was strong and fast and agile... but she was weakened from the fight. So was he, but he knew that they all had Semele outnumbered.

Then, an idea popped into his head.

Soaring off the boat and into the air, Sam called out, "Everyone, get onto the shore! I have a plan to stop the head counselor!"

One of the counselors turned to Sam. "How?" She asked.

"You've been here for years!" Sam stated. "Remember all the games you've played. Well, I think we may be able to turn those games and tip it to our advantage against Semele! Follow me!"

* * *

Semele darted after the Barret's car, pure rage in her eyes. Adrenaline coursed through her veins as she soared after the car as it drove off, desperate to catch its occupants.

Taking the measure of the car and its speed, Semele blasted off into the air and over the hood of the car. Landing several feet in front of the car, Semele smirked as Felix panicked and stepped on the brakes. The car skidded to a stop mere inches away from Semele.

Before the Barrets could reverse, Semele smashed her fist into the hood of the car, damaging it severely. Agatha gasped, and Felix mouthed a swear word. David shrunk into the backseat of the car.

Semele punched through the glass of the car, and yanked Felix and Agatha out of the car, tossing them away, before reaching in after David. The young boy bit Semele's finger, eliciting a sharp gasp from her, and she bared her teeth into fangs, her facial features twisted and ugly.

Before she could do anything else, a paintball struck Semele in the back. Whirling around to see who had struck her, Semele was shot in the face by another paintball. She wiped the paint from her eyes, and saw several children with paint guns aimed at her.

"You little brats!" Semele shouted, ignoring David as he exited the car. As Semele prepared to attack the children, an arrow pierced her leg. Shouting in pain, Semele looked down at her leg and tore the arrow out. Another arrow was fired from the trees, but this time, Semele expected it, and caught it in her fist.

"Show yourselves!" Semele shouted, her head whipping around. For a moment, there was silence. Then, a soccer ball came flying out and bounced against Semele's head. Growling in fury, Semele whirled around, her fists clenched and her teeth bared. Her self-control was decreasing fast.

In an instant, multiple arrows were shot out from all directions. Semele struggled to avoid them, but several sliced through her skin. As Semele stumbled around in a confused daze, a rope was lassoed around her wrist, and Semele was yanked backwards. Another arrow was wrapped around her ankle, and Semele was dropped onto the ground.

Semele slashed through the ropes binding her, and then saw a lit torch get sent flying towards her. She rolled out of the way, but the torch set part of her shirt on fire. Semele struggled to put it out. At that moment, Brenda jumped out of the bushes and shouted, "Let's get her!"

Suddenly, dozens of children and camp counselors swarmed out of the bushes and trees towards Semele. The vampire had only seconds to react before the crowd swirled around her, beating her into the ground. They kicked and punched her, battered her with sticks, clawed at her hair and skin. Grabbing any weapons they could, they used it to pummel Semele repeatedly. Janet grabbed a sharp stick and stabbed Semele in the waist with it.

As this was happening, Isabella, Amber and Bill showed up, and saw as the crowd beat Semele. Bill eyes widened in shock.

Semele screamed out in rage, and flew up into the air out of the crowd. Bill took the opportunity to fire a bullet into Semele's stomach, sending her hurtling through the air before she regained balance. She then put her counterattack into motion, soaring towards the campers and knocking them down. She rounded out into Brenda, grabbing her and flying into the air with the child in her grasp.

Sam flew up into the air and punched Semele in the face, causing her to release Brenda. The girl fell through the air and was caught by Bill.

Semele whirled about on Sam, who flew off to lure Semele away. Semele followed suit, pursuing Sam through the skies, which were beginning to darken.

"You can't escape from me, fairy boy!" Semele threatened. She blocked Sam's path, and he took a detour and flew to the left, but Semele blocked him once more.

Sam was trapped; every time he flew in a particular direction, Semele cut him off. She was much faster than he was.

"It's over, Sam," Semele said, her arms crossed and her eyes burning with hatred. "I'll never forgive you for what you've done. I'll make sure you pay for what you did!"

Sam stared into Semele's eyes; so filled with anger, so filled with rage. As he stared, he felt am immense fury building up within the pit of his stomach.

"You've killed dozens... no, hundreds of children," Sam said, his teeth gritted. "For over a century, you've prayed upon them. You stole their lives away from them. You sadistic monster!"

Semele's angered face shifted to curiosity. Sam's blue eyes glimmered in the darkness. The blue streak in his hair glowed bright, and Sam looked up at Semele.

"I'm going to make you pay for what you've done to them!" He shouted, his voice filled with hatred. Semele's face contorted into terror as Sam unexpectedly soared towards her. His fist collided with Semele's jaw so hard that it drew blood, and Semele was sent whirling backwards.

Semele was shocked, not knowing Sam was capable of such speed. She couldn't even follow that attack. Before she could recover from the punch, Sam unleashed a powerful flurry and punches into her jaw and neck regions. The punches burned with the fury of all of Semele's victims. Every time Semele was struck, she felt like she was being sent further to her death.

Sam's fist caught on fire, and he unleashed one final punch into Semele's nose. Semele felt her nose crack, and the force of the blow sent her plummeting down into the forest at twenty miles per second. She smashed into the ground, the entire forest shaking from the blow. Several trees were sent flying out of their roots and a chunk of the rocky mountains cracked off.

Sam stared down at where Semele had landed. In the midst of the devastation, he saw Semele. She was beaten and battered.

Bu she wasn't dead.

* * *

 _Read and review._


	42. The Best Summer Ever (Pt 16)

_I am a burglar: Gah! You were in that car?!_

 _Al Drin Hoshizora: Oh, you wish she was dead? Well, then read this chapter then._

* * *

When Sam had sent Semele crashing into the Earth, the force of the collision had sent a ripple through the forest. The unlucky people within it lost balance as the ground shook, struggling to keep on their feet. They grabbed onto trees while others collapsed on the grass.

For some time, everyone wondered if the very ground would spit apart. However, it came to pass that the ground calmed and returned to normal. For a moment, nobody moved, wondering if they were truly safe. After a few moments of silence, those on the ground got up and started to advance towards where Sam and Semele had been fighting.

They arrived in a field of grass, and were shocked at the devastation before them. There was a large crater in the middle of the forest, and dozens of nearby trees were either toppled over or snapped in two.

The campers approached the crater first, inspecting it to see if the threat had been vanquished. In the midst of the crater, Semele's broken body lay covered in dirt. They noticed that she was breathing ever so faintly, but even that was a signal that they had to act fast. It was only a matter of time before she recovered.

Sam soared down towards the campers, wishing to protect them from the vampire that lay before them. Landing before them, he turned down to stare at Semele. When he saw that she was still breathing, Sam summoned an energy blast and prepared to launch it at Semele.

With the ball of energy only seconds away from being fired, Sam noticed a slight movement in Semele. He saw her arm twitch, and her head crane around to stare at him. Then, right before his eyes, Semele vanished from the crater.

Sam gasped and evaporated the energy blast. His head whirled about, wondering where Semele had gone. He was aware that vampires had incredible speed, but even he didn't know that they could recover so quickly.

Next to him, Janet noticed a blur of red come spiraling towards Sam.

"Sam, look out!" She shouted and shoved Sam out of the way just as Semele tackled her to the ground. The vampired pinned Janet to the ground, opened her mouth, and quickly sunk her fangs into Janet's arm. The girl screamed in agony as Semele quickly started to such her blood.

"Janet!" Felix shouted, and he quickly threw himself at the vampire. Whipping about with incredibly speed, Semele struck Felix in the face and sent him tumbling to the side.

Before Semele could do anything else, she felt a sharp pain in her side. Her head craning down, she saw Crystal, an arrow in her hand, wedged in her abdomen. Crystal sunk the arrow in deeper, and Semele groaned in pain before grabbing the girl and tossing her away. Amber rushed to Crystal's side.

Isabella watched as Semele approached the two girls. She was aware that to kill a vampire, you had to destroy its heart. Thinking quickly, she conjured a large, crystal blade from her arm.

"You're all going to die!" Semele threatened as she approached Crystal and Amber. Looking down at Crystal, she said, "I'm going to kill your sister first, then I'll finish you!"

As she spoke the words, Bill fired a bullet into her leg, bringing Semele down. Isabella took the opportunity to fire the blade towards Semele, aimed at her chest. The vampire saw the blade coming, however, and ducked under it. The blade soared towards, David, who grabbed it in his hand.

Semele turned to stare at Isabella. A flash of green lit in Semele's eyes, and Isabella was magically flown backwards into a tree. Behind her, David aimed the blade at her. He knew he only had one shot.

Sam took aim and blasted a volt of electricity into Semele's face, temporarily stunning her. The moment the vampire recovered, Semele flew into the air, her face twisted into anger. All self-restraint was gone.

"You cannot do this to me!" She cried out in a hoarse voice at all who stood before her. "You're nothing! You're weak! You're weak humans, all of you! I'll show you the true power of a vampire!"

With a green flash in her eyes, Semele paralyzed those who stood before her. They froze in place, unable to move. Semele raised her arms in the air, and a green ball of energy formed in the palm of her hand. She whirled it backwards, prepared to throw it at the dozens of people below her.

But she didn't see David. She didn't see him pop the crystal blade into a bow he had taken from one of the campers. David took aim while the vampire's back was turned, the blade aimed at her heart.

Then, he launched it.

The arrow flew soundlessly through the air, and everyone saw the moment it pierced through Semele's back and exited through her heart. Semele threw her head back and let out a scream of pure agony, the ball of energy being bounced onto her instead of her foes.

Her heart had been punctured.

Semele's skin started to pale. Her red hair turned white. Her lively yellow eyes became dull and lifeless. Then, before everyone's eyes, Semele disintegrated into dust particles that fell to the ground.

The people instantly found that they could move again. They broke out of their frozen positions and watched as the dust that was once Semele was blown away into the wind.

Semele was dead.

* * *

Hours later, the police force was there, as was the enraged parents of the campers. Almost immediately after arriving, the parents dragged their traumatized children off to return home from the dreadful camp.

David watched as Julie's parents drove her away. Amber walked up to her and asked, "Is Julie going to be alright? She was bitten by a vampire. Will she become a..."

"She'll be fine," David reassured her. "Sam told me. That whole 'spread the curse' thing was made up by monsters to spite humans bitten by them. The worst that will happen is that she'll be stuck in bed for a few weeks."

Amber then turned to Crystal, who was sitting by the bench guiltily. She knew she had a lot of explaining to do when their parents arrived.

David turned to see Sam and Janet hugging Bill.

"Thanks for all that you've done, mister," Sam said gratefully. "I was wrong to think that you were responsibly for all those kidnappings."

"Don't mention it," Bill said. With a sigh, he mentioned, "I need to go home now." With that, he turned and left into the forest.

Sam watched him as he vanished into the forest, and then he went off towards his parents. He, too, wanted to go home.

* * *

An hour later, the kids were all at home. Janet and Sam were in their pajamas, and were reading when David burst into the room.

"Hey, I've been researching that camp, and there was a whole bunch of mysterious disappearances happening there," He informed them. "But not just at the camp. Kids have been vanishing in a particular pattern leading to the forest."

"So Semele didn't just hunt people at the camp?" Janet inquired. "That was just one of her hunting grounds, I guess?"

"It doesn't matter now," Sam said. "What matters is that she won't be a threat anymore. What matters is that we just saved a whole camps worth of children. That's what counts for now."

Janet smiled graciously. Then, she collapsed onto the bed, tired.

It had truly been a long summer.

* * *

 _ **End of Act I.**_

* * *

 _This is the end of the fanfic, readers. Don't worry, though; this is definitely not the end for Sam Crystal and his friends._


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